And these animal spies made James Bond’s life, a hell

Couple of years back, a vulture was “arrested” in Saudi Arabia, accused of being a spy for Israel’s Mossad foreign intelligence agency. While it may seem like an unusual occurrence, this vulture is just one of many animals that have been accused of spying.

From insects to squirrels, animals have been accused of various forms of espionage over the years. As technology continues to develop, it seems that this trend may escalate.

Many argue that animals should not be used in our war games. By using animals to support human acts of violence, lines certainly blur – will we fear a real mosquito with malaria or a military mosquito with a camera? Is it possible that soon, we will struggle to differentiate between nature and war, if squirrels start hunting people instead of acorns, sea lions carry cuffs instead of fish, and cats groom their wires instead of their fur?

IQ Zoo during cold war era

As the U.S. and Russia jostled for supremacy during the cold war, both sides spent a great deal of time and money investigating how animals could be used as spies.

Many of the ideas sound bizarre, but at the IQ Zoo in Hot Springs, Arkansas, experts had a government contract to train animals specifically for defense and intelligence work.

Not all of their attempts were successful, some never got past the drawing board, but others were used during the cold war era for spying purposes included training ravens to deposit and retrieve objects, conditioning pigeons to warn of enemy ambushes and even teaching cats to eavesdrop on human conversations.

We never found an animal we could not train,’ Bob Bailey, who worked on the program, told Smithsonian.

Although animals had been used for military intelligence purposes since ancient Greek times, it was during the 1960s that the work came especially into vogue.

As well as a tourist destination where parents could take their children to watch chickens play baseball and macaws ride bicycles, the IQ Zoo started to receive funding from governments agencies – including the CIA – to use animals for other purposes.

‘They came to us to solve problems,’ said Bailey. ‘It was the height of the cold war.’

The zoo was opened by Keller Breland and his wife Marian, who had been students of the psychologist B.F. Skinner, who had devised the concept of operant conditioning and teaching animals to carry out complex processes.

During World War II, Skinner had received defense funding to research a pigeon-based homing device for missiles, although it was never deployed.

Prior to joining IQ Zoo, Bailey had been the first director of training for the Navy’s pioneering dolphin program, which developed methods of training them to perform tasks including detecting and clearing mines to retrieving tools.

A partially declassified 1976 CIA document on naval dolphin training notes, the Soviets were ‘also assessing and replicating U.S. systems while possibly developing countermeasures to certain U.S. systems.’

Soon after joining ABE, Bailey got involved in the ‘acoustic kitty’ project, after the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology had proposed using cats as listening devices.

According to Bailey, the theory was that no one would pay attention to the animals’ comings and goings.

‘We found that we could condition the cat to listen to voices,’ said Bailey.

‘We have no idea how we did it. But…we found that the cat would more and more listen to people’s voices, and listen less to other things.’

Using cochlear implants, his team attempted to use cats as transmitters with a wire running from the cat’s inner ear to a battery and instrument cluster implanted in its rib cage. 

Ex-CIA official Victor Marchetti claimed in the book ‘The Wizards of Langley’ that the cat was run over by a taxi before his skills could be utilized.

Ravens were another creature that Bailey and the team found could be used for spying purposes.

He recalled building a ‘movie set’ of the area around the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. and then conditioning a raven, via a laser spotter, to pick out a particular room.

Bailey claims that both ravens and cats were successfully used to spy, but the program suffered a cut in funding following in 1975 after the Senate Select Committee to Study Government Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities was formed to investigate abuses of power at several U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA.

List of animal spies

Vultures

Saudi Arabia recently accused a vulture of spying after it was found carrying a transmitter and leg bracelet attached by Tel Aviv University scientists. Researchers argue that the tagging was being used to study migration patterns.

Cats

In the 1960’s, the CIA reportedly explored surgically inserting microphones and transmitters into cats, a project dubbed “Acoustic Kitty.” Former CIA officer Victor Marchetti told The Telegraph that the project “slit the cat open, put batteries in him, wired him up. The tail was used as an antenna. They made a monstrosity.” The first wired cat was, according to the Guardian, released for spying and took just a few steps towards its target before the cat was run over by a taxi. The CIA concluded that the project was impractical for intelligence gathering. But what we want to know is…who was driving the taxi? Cue dramatic conspiracy music.

Squirrels

Iranian Police reportedly held 14 squirrels on suspicion of spying in 2007. According to Mental Floss, foreign intelligence services found out that the squirrels had been fit with equipment for eavesdropping. Meanwhile, a Foreign Office source reportedly told Sky News that “the story is nuts.”

Pigeons

Iran claimed to have found “spy pigeons” near a nuclear facility in 2008. The accusation wasn’t the first of its kind. According to Wired, camera-carrying pigeons may have been around since 1903, when a German engineer experimented with the idea. Pigeons have played such a strong role in wartime that one pigeon, Cher Ami, won a medal for saving U.S. lives during World War I. And how are these supposed pigeon spies being intercepted? With falcons, of course! In World War II, the British used two peregrine falcones to intercept German pigeon spies, with some reported success.

Sea Lions and Dolphins

The U.S. Navy has recruited sea lions and dolphins for their Marine Mammal Program. It seems the military was not inspired by the irony of recruiting “Navy Seals,” but rather chose these animals for their abilities to hear underwater and see in low-light. Thus, the mammals have been trained to sweep for mines, carry cameras, and even cuff underwater suspects. We’re guessing they aren’t yet trained to read suspects their rights while being cuffed. Animal rights groups have objected to using these animals in combat. “War is a human endeavour and while people and political parties may decide war is necessary, animals cannot,” Dawn Carr of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals tells the BBC.

Hawks

Hawks were suspected of spying after Indian officials found the birds carrying what appeared to be high-tech surveillance equiptment. According to the BBC, while India initially suggested they were Pakistani “spyhawks,” a senior Indian police officer debunked the accusation, stating that the birds were simply being used to assist with hunting expeditions. In other words, the hawks were spying, but on other birds, not people.

Insects

Scientists are reportedly experimenting with insects for surveillance. The Telegraph explains that electrodes, batteries, and video cameras are being fitted onto insects. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) may be working to insert brain probes into moths and beetles in the pupa stage. It is believed that the creatures will naturally incorporate the implants into their bodies as they develop.

Chickens

Perhaps ironically dubbed “KFC,” Operation Kuwaiti Field Chicken was a US army plan to use chickens during battle, reports the BBC. The plan was for the chickens to be used to detect poisonous gases, but 41 of the animals died from illness in the Gulf within a week of arrival. It seems that Colonel Sanders can still keep the KFC name for himself.

Bats, Bees, Monkeys, And Sharks

Beyond espionage, a slew of animals have been accused of engaging in various other acts of war. The U.S. military attempted to attach bombs to bats during World War II. Up to 6,000 animals were used in the experiment, but many of the bats collapsed to the ground or just flew away. The effort was finally canceled, but not before bats reportedly set fire to a general’s car and a US Army hangar. Many animal accusations have been debunked. Claims ranging from monkeys shooting guns to sharks attacking civilians have all perpetuated fear to little avail. Except perhaps it will inspire a Jaws/James Bond mashup film?