Talk:Military dolphin

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[edit] Navy Propaganda??

the part about dolphins being cared for by 'the best technicians available' yak yak... sounds pretty much like the military assuring the public that they're not mistreating the dolphins. even if it's true, it doesnt sound very encyclopdedic... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.180.106.151 (talk) 14:48, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Persistent Silly Stories

I removed the Hurricane Katrina story — again — because it's already covered in more detail under U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program, which is where it belongs. I don't know why people get so excited about this obviously bogus story and keep trying to jam it in everywhere — there are serious questions about the reliability of the only source for the story, Leo Sheridan (see the Museum of Hoaxes). People should check sensational nonsense like this out in Snopes before posting it to Wikipedia. — Johantheghost 14:12, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Well, I included it on the basis of an article in the UK Independent newspaper. You are probably right that it's nonsense - but I'd prefer the article to cover it. The Land 14:15, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

My point was that it is covered in the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program article, which I think is the right place for it, since that's what it's referring to. Also, the fact that the indie and many other papers, TV stations, etc. have covered this doesn't give it any additional credence, because they're all just quoting the Observer article, which in turn comes from Leo Sheridan. Wide coverage doesn't give a story weight if all the coverage can be traced back to a single source who doesn't provide a shred of evidence for his clearly wacky claims. I think it says more about those newspapers than it does about the story. — Johantheghost 14:30, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Just was to add that I agree with Johan's view. We can report these stories as the fact that they got published at all is interesting, but that doesn't stop them being wacky and evidence-free. Pcb21| Pete 19:23, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Where is the authority for the existence of a "kamikaze" dolphin training program? The Navy site contradicts that assertion at http://www.spawar.navy.mil/sandiego/technology/mammals/NMMP_FAQ.html.

[edit] Contradiction

The section titled "The military dolphin" contradicts the upper section of the article. In the lower section, it says that some dolphins were swept away during hurricane katrina, while in the upper it says that the story about escaped dolphins is a hoax. There also seem to be no references in the lower section.
This is a contradiction or at least a very unfortunate choice of terms (either quoting something in a non-obvious way, or a really bad choice of words, such as dolphins escaping meaning exactly escaping by their own means and never being recaptured, instead of just getting away).
190.30.120.36 (talk) 22:39, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fake photo?

The photograph currently on the front page does not appear to be real. First off, the 'pinger' supposed strapped to the dolphin does not appear to be a real object, but a cartoon or pixel artwork of some sort. Second, the way it is strapped to the dolphin's fin is infeasible; it could not stay on this way. Third, the angle and distance of the dolphin in the background does not match the soldier in the foreground. Finally, the uniform the soldier (not sailor) is wearing is not Navy gear. 134.154.220.154 (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 15:50, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

yep, it's either fake or that soldier is a tiny tiny person who happens to be looking at a spot several metres behind the dolphin. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.165.98.105 (talk) 13:19, 11 June 2008 (UTC)