On Tuesday morning, residents in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil captured what they claimed was an Israeli spy vulture. They thought the bird was carrying Israeli spy equipment, but it was released after authorities determined it was not carrying anything dangerous.
This is not the first time an animal has been arrested for espionage. There have been numerous incidents in which creatures ranging from rats to “Zionist spy ducks” have been detained for their alleged undercover operations.
Israel is often the target of these accusations, allegedly using animals to spy on various countries in the Islamic world, including Saudi Arabia and Sudan.
Here are a few notable examples of apparent animal espionage.
GPS vulture scopes out Sudan: In 2012, Sudanese officials reportedly confirmed that they had caught a vulture spying for Israel. The bird was allegedly equipped with GPS technology and broadcasting equipment, along with a tag which linked it back to the “Israel Nature Service.”
Israel claimed it was being used to track migration patterns.
Mossad sharks attack Sinai: A fatal shark attack in the Sinai, Egypt, back in 2010 caused a tsunami of speculation that the fish may have been sent by Mossad on a sabotage mission. The South Sinai governor was reported as having not ruled out that theory, despite Israel saying it was “too ludicrous” to even comment on.
“What is being said about the Mossad throwing the deadly shark [in the sea] to hit tourism in Egypt is not out of the question, but it needs time to confirm,” the Egyptian official said. Reports said Egypt claimed to have caught the shark in question.
Hamas catches a dolphin "agent": In August of last year, Hamas claimed it had captured a dolphin working for Israel. The marine animal was allegedly caught with spying devices, including cameras. It was brought ashore by a naval unit of Hamas’ military wing after displaying “suspicious movements,” according to Palestinian media reports.
A “Zionist spy duck” is arrested in Egypt: Probably the most bizarre of the alleged spying incidents involved what was initially described by some news reports as a swan working for French security services, and even a “Zionist spy duck,” before it was confirmed to be an innocent stork.
It was captured after a fisherman on the Nile river saw a suspicious device attached to it. The device turned out to be a tracker put in place by French scientists to follow migratory birds
