WikimediaThe Russian military are on the lookout for dolphins who want to be all they can be apparently.
According to the Daily Mail the military is after two female and three male dolphins, between three and five years old, to be stationed in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol by August.
But the armed forces won’t just take any dolphins, they must have no physical impairments and possess perfect teeth.
With that criteria in mind the bidding has been opened on a £17,300 (1.75 million rubles) contract for whoever can deliver the sea mammals on schedule.
The employment of dolphins to serve Russia’s military interests is nothing new, however, with it reported combat dolphins were used in the Soviet era to plant explosives.
Retired colonel Viktor Baranets reported the training of sea mammals was part of the Cold War arms race of the 1960s.
He told told AFP:
Americans looked into this first. But when Soviet intelligence found out the tasks the US dolphins were completing in the 1960s, the defence ministry at the time decided to address this issue.
When the Soviet Union collapsed the dolphins previously used were reportedly sold to Iran, and the training centre in the Crimea became severely neglected.
The Russian defence ministry is yet to comment on their renewed interest in marine life.
