From Sea World To Active Duty

By MARK THOMPSON

The Navy has plenty of high-tech gear poised to defend its fleet of carriers, cruisers and destroyers deployed in the Persian Gulf for possible war with Iraq. But the service has also quietly dispatched a low-tech team of military helpers: California sea lions.

The mammals have been flown from their home base in San Diego to Bahrain to see whether they can help protect U.S. ships against Iraqi frogmen and mines. Living in pens on land next to the Persian Gulf, the sea lions, which average around 350 lbs. each, will hop aboard boats and dive into the water near the ships they are protecting. Their keen eyes and hearing allow them to detect intruders or mines far better than their human counterparts. A sea lion can swim up to 25 m.p.h. for short bursts, enabling it to nab an underwater foe by snaring it in a clamp placed in its mouth. The sea lion then hands its prey, whether a submerged mine or a swimmer, over to human handlers.

In keeping with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's tight-lipped policy on revealing the number of U.S. troops near Iraq, the Navy won't disclose just how many of its 20 or so sea lions have been sent to the gulf. But unlike the human troops, who are all volunteers, the sea lions were drafted. --By Mark Thompson