Sudan Detains And Publicly Denounces Israeli ‘Spy Vulture’

Sudan’s media is reporting the capture of an “Israeli spy vulture,” who was successfully apprehended in the Darfur region of Sudan on Thursday. The vulture was identified as Israeli by its inconspicuous “Israel Nature Authority” and “Hebrew University, Jerusalem” Hebrew language leg bands and GPS chip.

Sudanese media have announced the bird to be an Israeli spy, with its GPS device “capable of taking photos and sending them back to Israel,” according to the Times of Israel. Israel’s Nature Authority have denied the spy bird accusations, citing the GPS chip to be nothing more than a standard tracking device for monitoring migratory birds.

Ohad Hazofe, an Israeli spokesman, speaking on behalf of the accused Israeli “spy vulture” and Israel Nature and Parks Authority, alleges that the bird was merely tracked on its yearly migratory route from the Balkans in order to assist Israeli ornithologists in their study of the birds.

As reported by Yedioth Ahronot’s English news site, YNET News, numerous Sudanese websites have been quick to mock the authorities’ very public capture of the “Israeli spy bird,'” with the Justice and Equality Movement’s website asking:

“How is it possible that the regime was able to detect one vulture, but was unable to detect the jets that bombed the arms facility?”

Israel-Sudan relations have been steadily on the decline after a suspicious October airstrike on a weapons manufacturing plant in Khartoum in which Sudan has blamed Israel. Israel has yet to issue a response.

This is not the first time that Israel has been slammed with animal espionage accusations by neighboring Middle Eastern countries. In 2010 and after a string of vicious Sinai shark attacks, Egypt announced the shark attacks as the possible work of the Israeli Mossad, ‘trying to hurt Egyptian tourism in any way possible.’

Again in 2011, Israel was confronted with allegations of animals spying for Israel, with a griffon vulture found with “spying equipment” and a “Tel Aviv University,” leg band in Saudia Arabia.

Just this May, Israel was also publicly confronted by Turkey, who voiced its suspicions about a European bee-eater with an Israeli leg band. Authorities claim that the bird ‘may have had Mossad spying equipment implanted in one of its nostrils, according to an article by the Israel National News.

Inquisitr readers’ sound off: Should the bird fry for being a spy, or should it simply be left to fly?