Dolphins Discover 19th Century Torpedo Near Hotel del Coronado

Dolphins trained to search for objects beneath the sea found a seemingly lost relic recently near the Hotel del Coronado, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

The bottlenose dolphins detected what's known as a Howell torpedo, dating to the late 19th century. Just 50 were produced and only one was thought to have been preserved. It is in a Washington state naval museum, the report said.

The dolphins, which are trained out of Naval Base Point Loma, found the newly discovered Howell torpedo in waters around the Del last month, according to the LA Times.

Because the dolphins' trainers sink objects for their subjects to find, initially they didn't believe there had been a significant find. When a second dolphin detected the object again a week later, the report said, it was retrieved. The torpedo was no longer active, so was not a danger.

It is now going to be sent to the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington, according to the report.

For more, see the Los Angeles Times.