Introduction
Since the 2000s, a bizarre series of reports have accused Israel’s Mossad of training and deploying animals—sharks, vultures, and migratory birds—for espionage or sabotage in enemy countries. Are these merely oddball rumors, or is there some truth to the tales of feathered and finned spies?
Origins
The phenomenon exploded after a series of shark attacks in Egypt (2010) were blamed on Israeli “remote control,” followed by incidents of GPS-tagged vultures in Sudan and Saudi Arabia. Many nations, especially in the Middle East, suspect Western powers of using science as a cover for intelligence gathering.
Theories
- Actual Spy Animals: Some point to proven cases of animal surveillance during the Cold War (e.g., the US “Acoustic Kitty” project) as precedent.
- Psyops: Others see these rumors as psychological warfare, stoking anti-Israel sentiment.
- Wildlife Tracking Gone Wrong: Many cases are simply misunderstood scientific projects, with GPS collars or tags causing panic.
Key Examples
- Shark attacks in Sharm el-Sheikh blamed on Israeli science (2010).
- Vulture “arrests” in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.
- Parrot and dolphin spying rumors in Gaza and Egypt.
Critical Analysis
Animal spy lore blurs fact and fiction, mixing Cold War gadgetry, wildlife biology, and the region’s geopolitical paranoia.