Dead falcon with camera sparks spying fears on India border

[Looper]

Indian security forces have found a dead falcon fitted with a small camera which has sparked alarm near the country's highly militarised border with Pakistan, an official said on Monday.

The carcass was discovered near the ancient fort city of Jaisalmer in the far west of the desert state of Rajasthan where the Indian armed forces regularly conduct drills and war games.

"It was fitted with some device and an antenna," a senior Border Security Force officer stationed in the state told AFP by telephone, on the condition of anonymity.




Suspicions were initially that the bird might have been used for military spying, but the camera did not appear very sophisticated and it might instead have been the work of Pakistani hunters, the official said.

"However, the possibility of it being an espionage attempt from Pakistan cannot be ruled out at this stage," he said, adding that an investigation was being conducted.

In 2010, Indian police detained a pigeon under armed guard after it was caught on an alleged spying mission.

Local officers in Punjab state, which lies to the north of Rajasthan, said the white bird had a ring around its foot and a Pakistani phone number and address stamped on its body in red ink.

Dead falcon sparks spying fears on India border - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)


Cheaper than drones maybe but a bugger to control I would think

[Wally Dorian Raffles]

Bird brain technology. Wow!

[Thormaturge]

In 2010, Indian police detained a pigeon under armed guard after it was caught on an alleged spying mission.

I have long had suspicions about the pigeons on my office ledge.




This guy turned up recently and I swear he had an American accent. I suspect the CIA but you can never be sure.

[Radius]

It could have also been part of some sort of research being done on these birds.

Some info on animals and the military here.

Military animal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


One juvenile Egyptian vulture fitted with the satellite transmitter in Thrace, Greece | The Return of the Neophron

[VocalNeal]

Could also have been a Nat. Geo. / Animal Planet film crew?

someone send some tin foil to India.

[Rainfall]

Good bet, because the BBC would use very sophisticated equipment.

[Camel Toe]

The poor man's drone. Love it!