Sunday, October 30, 2011

Animal spies

Have you heard animal spies before? It is creative to train animals to support or even replace the work of human agents.

Animal is rarely viewed with suspicion and tend to be left out because they often appear in our surroundings. Animals usually be trained as messengers or listener-in.

During World War 2, pigeons not only acted as secret message carriers but also like a scout. They were trained to fly along specific routes and then released carrying tiny cameras that took photos automatically at specific intevals revealing the location of enemy forces.

As for dog, one of the most familiar animals for people, they were used for the best messengers in the war because of their fast speed and sensitive sense of smell. When it was too dark, or too foggy, wet for people and pigeons, they can still work.

Moreover, people implanted electronic device into animals like microphone, transmitter and battery. But I just wonder did it demage animal's health, such as reduce their life?

The US Navy uses specially trained dolphins and sea lions to patrol harbors. Besides, people also train the mice, Sphinx moths and so on.

2 comments:

  1. Wow! This is a very interesting post! I always knew pigeons were used to send messages because it is more efficient, but I never considered using animals to send messages to decrease suspicion. You mentioned the US Navy training dolphins and sea lions to patrol harbors. I wonder if other nations do this as well. If other nations do use this method, then I suppose it won't really decrease suspicion because the invader will know what to look for.

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  2. It's cool that animals can act as "spies" in place of humans. That's very convenient!

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