Spy Vulture (Tel Aviv)

[Donna]

TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- A vulture tagged by Israeli scientists strayed into Saudi Arabia, prompting officials to accuse Israel of spying.

The vulture, found by Saudi security officials in a rural area, wore a transmitter and leg bracelet bearing the name of Tel Aviv University, the Israeli daily Maariv said Tuesday.

Scientists at the university said the bird was tagged to study migration patterns in the region, the Hebrew-language newspaper said.

Arab-language Web sites posted details of the vulture's flight, alleging it was a Zionist plot and that Israel was training the birds for espionage, the report said.

The Saudi Arabian newspaper al-Weeam was the first to report the incident. It said the vulture landed near the home of a sheik in the community of Hayel. The report said the bird had a "foul odor coming out of its mouth -- proof of a Zionist plot." This led to a spate of anti-Israeli comments in the Arab media.

The English-language Israel Today Web site said the Iranian Tabnak news agency reported the serial number on the bird's tag left no doubt it was sent to spy on Saudi Arabia and other countries.

The "spy personal number of X63 [the identification number on the bird's bracelet] leaves no doubt that the other birds are going to be sent by the Zionist regime for espionage against Saudi Arabia and other countries."

Spy

[Bobbie Ireland]

They should all take a lesson from the birds, who do not recognise boundaries!

[dbishop]

From the BBC news desk.  Go to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12120259
for the original article.

Saudi Arabian officials have "detained" a vulture on accusations of being a spy for Israel, media reports say.

The griffon vulture was carrying a GPS transmitter bearing the name of Tel Aviv University, prompting rumours it was part of a Zionist plot.

Israeli wildlife officials dismissed the claims as ludicrous and expressed concern about the bird's fate.

Last month, Egyptian officials implied the Israeli spy agency Mossad was to blame for shark attacks off its coast.

The vulture, which can have a wing span of up to 265cm (8ft 8in), was caught after it landed in the desert city of Hyaal a few days ago.

When locals discovered the GPS transmitter, they suspected the worst and handed it over to the security forces, said Israel's Ma'ariv newspaper.

Conspiracy theories quickly began circulating in Saudi newspapers and on websites that the bird was involved in espionage.
'Terrible price'

Israeli officials told Ma'ariv they were "stunned" by the allegations and concerned that the bird could meet a horrible punishment in the notoriously severe Saudi justice system.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

    I hope they release the poor thingâ€�

End Quote Unnamed official Israeli Park and Nature Authority

"The device does nothing more than receive and store basic data about the bird's whereabouts, and about his altitude and speed," a bird specialist at Israel's Park and Nature Authority told the newspaper.

The data would be used to improve understanding of the endangered species' behaviour.

"Now, this poor bird is paying a terrible price. That's very sad," said the unnamed expert.

"I hope they release the poor thing."

The vulture is the latest animal to be accused of being an unwitting Mossad operative.

In December, the governor of Egypt's South Sinai province, Mohamed Abdul Fadil Shousha, suggested the spy agency may have had a hand in a string of deadly shark attacks off the coast of the Sharm el-Sheikh resort.

He said it was "not out of the question" that Mossad had put the killer shark in the area.

The Israeli foreign ministry dismissed that allegation, saying the governor "must have seen Jaws one time too many, and confuses fact and fiction".

[Carol P.]

WOW!  This sounds familiar.  Maybe Shaky will explain. 

[dbishop]

After I posted it, I noticed that it had been posted earlier.   Sorry, should have added this to that thread.

[Carol P.]

After I posted it, I noticed that it had been posted earlier.   Sorry, should have added this to that thread.

I hadn't seen that it was already posted either.   

[Shaky]

WOW!  This sounds familiar.  Maybe Shaky will explain.  

You mean the Canadian plot to take over the US using mind control that I foiled in 2002?

[Shaky]

After I posted it, I noticed that it had been posted earlier.   Sorry, should have added this to that thread.

I merged them.

[Kris G.]

Update: 

A bird suspected by some of being a spy for Israel's Mossad is being released by Saudi Arabia after officials learned the creature was merely part of a university research project.

The bird, which was first identified as a vulture but is reportedly a bald eagle, was captured last week by a local hunter in a remote area of the Saudi desert. The bird was wearing a GPS transmitter and a leg bracelet with the words "Tel Aviv University," according to reports that began with the Israeli daily Ma'ariv.

Within hours, reports that Israel was using birds of prey in a Zionist espionage plot went viral on many Arabic-language websites and forums, according to Saudi Arabia's Al-Weeam newspaper.

Though the vulture was tagged in a way to indicate it was part of a scientific study of migration patterns, its arrival in Saudi Arabia came at an inopportune time. Last month, after a string of shark attacks on tourists in the Red Sea, a South Sinai governor suggested they might be a plot by Israeli secret agents.

"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," South Sinai Gov. Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shousha said, according to Reuters.

Sponsored LinksBut after the vulture had been captured in Saudi Arabia, Prince Bandar bin Saud al Saud, the Saudi nature authority, told Arabic-language news dailies that the bird was not a spy and that there had been been a mixup concerning a tracking device that had been placed on the bird. He also said the bird was a bald eagle.

Prince Bandar scolded local media outlets for what he said was irresponsible reporting, Emirates 24-7 reported.
"Some of the Saudi journalists rushed in carrying the news of this bird for the sake of getting a scoop without checking the information. ... I am not defending Israel, but we need to be clear. ... They [newspapers] should have asked the competent authorities about the bird before publishing such news."

[Donna]

Phew!!! I'm so glad. Thanks Kris.

[Kris G.]

Phew!!! I'm so glad. Thanks Kris.

You're welcome, Donna!  Me too!

[Paul Hamilton]

Maybe some international cooperation on the ecology of the Griffon Vulture will come out of this.

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article230917.ece

Paul

[Carol P.]

WOW!  This sounds familiar.  Maybe Shaky will explain.  

You mean the Canadian plot to take over the US using mind control that I foiled in 2002?

Why of course!  That's the one!