Saudi Arabia captures Israeli 'spy vulture'

[David Guyatt]

I think some Saudi princes have been drinking a little too much of their local brew.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...lture.html

Saudi Arabia captures Israeli 'spy vulture'

Saudi Arabian security services have captured a vulture that is suspected of being a Mossad spy sent over by Israel to gather information about the country.

The bird was carrying a GPS transmitter
7:00AM GMT 05 Jan 2011


The large bird, which was carrying a GPS transmitter and a tag bearing the identification code R65 from Tel Aviv University, strayed into rural Saudi Arabian territory at some point last week, according to a report in the Israeli daily Ma'ariv.
Residents and local reporters told Saudi Arabia's Al-Weeam newspaper that the matter seemed to be linked to a "Zionist plot" and swiftly alerted security services. The bird has since been placed under arrest.

The accusations went viral, according to the Israeli Ha'aretz newspaper, with hundreds of posts on Arabic-language websites and forums claiming that the "Zionists" had trained the birds for espionage.

The incident comes amid growing paranoia among Israel's neighbours over the nation's growing military might.

Several weeks ago an Egyptian official reportedly claimed that a shark that attacked tourists off the coastal resort of Sharm el Sheikh was also acting on behalf of the Israeli spy service.

The Israeli authorities said the bird's activities were much more innocent and that it was in fact part of a long-term academic study of the migratory habits of the vulture.

On the basis of "birds of a feather fock together", I wonder if this vulture is part of the Pentagon's "Aviary" team -- but the picture doesn't look like Gordon Novell?

[Magda Hassan]

Perhaps a former member can replace their dead parrot with this lovely creature? :danceing:

[David Guyatt]

Yes, a vulture is so much more fitting isn't it.:lol:

[Magda Hassan]

Saudi Arabia set to free vulture suspected to be a 'Mossad spy'

Bird reportedly found in a rural area wearing a transmitter and a leg bracelet bearing the words Tel Aviv University, prompting some to suspect a 'Zionist plot.'

Saudi Arabia has announced its intention to release a vulture suspected of being an Israeli spy, Israel Radio reported, mere days after the scavenger fell captive in the kingdom.
A vulture being released into the wild in Israel.
Photo by: Yaron Kaminsky Last Tuesday, a vulture tagged by scientists at Tel Aviv University has strayed into Saudi Arabian territory, where it was promptly arrested on suspicion of being a Mossad spy.
The bird was found in a rural area of the country wearing a transmitter and a leg bracelet bearing the words "Tel Aviv University", according to the reports, which surfaced first in the Israeli daily Ma'ariv.
Although these tags indicate that the bird was part of a long-term research project into migration patterns, residents and local reporters told Saudi Arabia's Al-Weeam newspaper that the matter seemed to be a "Zionist plot."
The accusations went viral, with hundreds of posts on Arabic-language websites and forums claiming that the "Zionists" had trained these birds for espionage.
The Sinai regional governor last month suggested that a shark that killed and maimed tourists on its Red Sea port may have been intentionally released by Israeli agents in order to sabotage the country's tourist industry.
"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," Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shousha said, according to the British Sun newspaper.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-de...y-1.336217

[Danny Jarman]

The large bird, which was carrying a GPS transmitter and a tag bearing the identification code R65 from Tel Aviv University

[David Guyatt]

A tagged bird is a fairly common thing for zoologists and other critter followers, isn't it?

[Peter Lemkin]

A tagged bird is a fairly common thing for zoologists and other critter followers, isn't it?

While I'd personally put almost nothing past Mossad, I think this was ONLY a biological/ornithological experiment. If in doubt, cut off the GPS leg-tag and let the vulture free...certainly even the Saudi's can't possibly imagine the bird as an entity is in on any espionage!

[David Guyatt]

Now if it was this sort of Raptor, then things would be quite different:

[Charles Drago]

It's the nose.

[David Guyatt]

Nose it's not.