A smattering of blocky white buildings perch at the cut where San Diego Bay meets the Pacific Ocean: Naval Base Point Loma. The complex houses not only hulking warships but also dozens of dolphins, sea lions, and other sea creatures.
The animals are part of the US Navy Marine Mammal Program, which was established in 1959, after scientists found that dolphins were adept at delivering messages and identifying threats underwater. During the Vietnam War, Navy dolphins named Garth, John, Slan, Tinker, and Toad were stationed in Cam Ranh Bay, a deep-water bay in the country’s southeast, to discourage enemy swimmers from attacking a key ammunition pier there.
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