'Russian spy whale': How military around the world exploited marine mammals

The earliest of these experiments took place during World War I, when Britain's Royal Navy unsuccessfully attempted to train sea lions to locate German submarines

Norwegian fishermen were reportedly approached recently by a beluga whale wearing a Russian harness, complete with GoPro camera holder, sparking speculation that the animal had been trained to gather intelligence by the Russian Navy. While this theory has not been confirmed, it is entirely plausible: armed forces around the world have a long and disturbing history of exploiting marine mammals.

In the late 19th century, European militaries had come to appreciate that thoroughly-trained and well-handled dogs could perform useful military services, such as finding wounded soldiers on the battlefield and guarding military