In another bit of news involving Russia, for that is apparently a theme today, we learn that the former Soviet Union has nearly fallen out of the pivotal race to breed the ultimate maritime weapon: killer seals.
"We would really like our animals in future to work like American sea lions," Gennady Matishov, director of the Murmansk Marine Biology Institute in northern Russia, told the Izvestia daily.
“The Americans drop their animals from helicopters into enemy waters and then the animals place mines on installations, make videos of what they see along an enemy shore or use a special gauge to measure radiation," he added. [sic]
We've all likely heard of dolphins saving stray scuba divers and the like, and we had a vague idea that sea mammals were trained by like the coast guard or something to help find people lost at sea, but dropping seals out of helicopters? How long has this been happening and how did we not know about it? It's no wonder the Russians are desperate to catch up with this sort of thing. Matishov, the kind of man we imagine takes his work very seriously, goes on to point out that the seals he does have trained are capable of differentiating between a Russian diver and an enemy, and can "render harmless" said enemy, whatever unpleasantries that entails. Pretty chilling stuff, and one has to wonder how far the Russians would have been able to take this thing had the Soviet Union not collapsed. One more reason to wake up every morning and thank the good Lord, with all our heart, that we live in America.
VALLEY, we're going to say.
via jacaranda
On a side note, we include this video of marine mammal carnage, which has pretty much ensured that we will never again step foot in or near the ocean:
Good stuff. And great picture. Big fan so far of the Russian news.
Posted by: Andrew Sullivan | 12/01/2009 at 19:45
I am really going to have trouble getting back in the ocean after watching that video.
Posted by: TomGarbarino | 12/01/2009 at 21:12
Tom, I guarantee that whales will not attack you in the ocean.
Posted by: Andrew Sullivan | 12/02/2009 at 14:08