Seals special forces
Murmansk scientists received the award for his work with combat seals.
Transport case for seals made to order of well-planed boards, the side — wall of the nylon network, the top — two castle, whiskered muzzle and large dark eyes. Busia gray tulenega — for my life has traveled several times. From the island of Great Cue in the Barents sea by ship to the village of liinakhamari, from there by truck to the landfill Red Rocks (shore of the Kola Bay), and then by car to the city of Polar.
In fact, with the ability to voluntarily climb into a box largely and begin the real service seals dual purpose. So scientists call animals that can simultaneously be useful to both military and civilian. Unlike service dogs, who are genetically inclined to seek shelter, for service of seals to get in your box or to another close room — stress. But without the seal service possible.
In mobilizing the seals are seated in boxes, loaded on a plane, on a ship or to trucks and delivered to the place of work. A seal adapted to life in two media — water and on land, so after a minimum adaptation of the animals are ready to do the job, even if they moved to a different time zone. This is their advantage over cetaceans. Same dolphins and Beluga whales, the Arctic whales are transported in a special bath, the skin should be kept moist, otherwise it will crack.Dmitry Escolasantahelena on science of the Murmansk marine biological Institute (MMBI) RAS
In mobilizing the seals are seated in boxes, loaded on a plane, on a ship or to trucks and delivered to the place of work. After a short adaptation they are willing to do the job.
Murmansk marine biological Institute — an institution which has no analogues in the world. It is located in the Arctic circle, and for several decades studying marine mammals, while both fundamental and purely applied science. In 1984 it thanks to the efforts of academician Gennady Matishov have any Department that oversaw the creation of semi-secret laboratory for developing methods of combat training of marine mammals. Since military ammunition tried on the most different representatives of the animal world: the far East sea lions (i.e., sea lions), seals, black sea bottlenose dolphins, Beluga whales, gray and harp seals, ringed seals, seals-chochlate and sea hares.
Not so long ago, scientists led by academician Gennady by Matisova received the prize of S. O. Makarov (usually given for outstanding scientific works in the field of Oceanology) of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences for the cycle of works “the Use of marine mammals for official purposes”. On the website ran a message to academician with the mention that work on the use of combat seals can once again become relevant in connection with the intensification of the terrorist threat. Whether pinnipeds to stand up, so to speak, in the system? And “enter into the defense complex of the country”?
Fins and flippers in the service of the Fatherland
Today Murmansk pinnipeds — a remnant of a once powerful complex for the training of marine mammals deployed in the USSR in the second half of the last century. On the one hand, the scientists and the military tried to unravel the mysteries of the work of organisms to use this to create the latest weapons, on the other — to use the animals themselves.
— All aspects of working with marine mammals, is surrounded by many myths — says the “Spark” is head of the laboratory of biotechnical systems, MMBI RAS Alexander Zaitsev — because the work is usually not advertised. Conference on “official” use of marine animals in the world are not held. As a rule, these semi-secret work, and each country prefers to keep those secrets to yourself. After all, there are basic principles of working with marine mammals, but each coach has his own tricks — how to convince an animal to perform a particular task. In fact, it’s sheer creativity.
Because of this secrecy, the myths are just multiplying. Someone claims that in the Soviet time, slaughtered dolphins in the Black sea commandos, were able to parachute and was guarded by nuclear submarines.
Sceptics, conversely, believe that the whole thing was confined to experiences at the level of the circus tent. However, as always, is somewhere in the middle.
Polygons, MMBI wounds on the Barents sea and the Kola Bay became the third point on the map of the USSR, where he created the so-called biotechnical systems — so sparingly in the language of scientific documentation called Busa, Splatty, Snakes, Happy, sleepy, Fes, Veta, Tabitha, and Selena that live today on the station Red Rocks. Although the animal in this system is only a small part of the iceberg.
First in the 60-ies of the last century in our country there was a military Dolphinarium in Cossack Bay (Sevastopol), where he started to train combat dolphins, — tells “to the Spark” one of the last of the legendary Directors of the complex Vitali Varganov.
The idea of the aquarium was supported by the commander of the naval fleet of the Soviet Union Sergey Georgiyevich Gorshkov. It was an ambitious project that was carried out by forces of the Soviet Union. On the creation of a biotech base worked 52 research Institute of different profiles!Vitali Varganov
In the end, the Dolphinarium (later, when brought back animals from the Far East, he became to be called the aquarium) were located in the area of 19 hectares, comprised a large hydraulic engineering complex, consisting of three enclosures, pools, and water pumping stations, barracks, laboratory building and other auxiliary buildings and structures. Specifically for its needs was solid built jetties at the entrance to Sevastopol.
Officially, the scientists, nearly half of whom were officers of the Navy, the task was to solve the “warming effect” of dolphins, named after the scientist who discovered it. He concludes that a Dolphin swims at a speed 10 times greater than the power of his muscles. To solve the problem, the researchers built the 50-meter trench with Windows on each side, which ran the dolphins, recording the parameters of their movement.
In the end, found that dolphins develop greater speed thanks to a special skin that dampens turbulence, and the animal has to expend energy on overcoming the turbulence of water flows.
Realizing this Dolphin secret, physicists had to invent a technique by which with less horsepower of nuclear submarines they would have developed greater speed and made the least possible noise. However, were you able to translate this fundamental discovery in language of specific technologies — this history is silent.
Later on the same base to work with marine mammals have been conceived in the far East. According to the documents she was held as a 168 nits TOF (168th research center of the Pacific fleet). In 1980 it was founded on the shore of the Bay of Vityaz. ‘ve had sea lions and Beluga whales. If the first trump was in their power and ferocity, the second was an extraordinary ability of echolocation. Animals were prepared for detection of underwater saboteurs, monitoring of environmentally hazardous natural objects, surveys of deep-water pipelines and cables. But before the end of database and not completed — the country collapsed, and with it the complex infrastructure. Dilapidated building warm pools, like the giant ball on the Golf course, still gives the alien accent of the far Eastern landscape.
Russian trace. Dossier