Harbour security

Wanted: Spy dolphins (must have nice teeth). Russian military advertises for five 'combat sea mammals' and even lists their physical requirements 

Russia's defence ministry is looking to buy five dolphins with perfect teeth and no physical impairments in a nod to its Soviet-era use of sea mammals for military tasks.

The military is seeking two female and three male dolphins between three and five years old, according to a document uploaded to the government's procurement website on Wednesday.

It has opened the bidding on a £17,300 (1.75 million ruble) contract to deliver dolphins to the military in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol by August 1.

An unnamed source told RIA Novosti state news agency in March 2014 that new training programmes were being designed to make the dolphins serve Russia's military interests.

Dolphins were used by the Soviet Union and United States at the height of the Cold War, having been trained to detect submarines, underwater mines and spot suspicious objects or individuals near harbours and ships.