From 'Acoustic Kitty' to 'Killer Whale': These animals are alleged spies

After Hamas has claimed that Israeli security forces attacked its naval commandos with a dolphin equipped with combat gear, here's a list of some incidents when animals and insects were accused of espionage.

Hamas has claimed that Israeli security forces attacked its naval commandos with a dolphin equipped with combat gear. As reports, Israeli security forces deployed a dolphin to chase Hamas frogman commandos off the Gaza Strip's coast on Monday (Jan 12, 2022). 

An Al-Qassam Brigades naval commando spokesperson said in a video that Hamas naval operatives were driven into the water by a dolphin outfitted with a gadget capable of killing the terrorist group's frogmen during an unspecified operation. 

Joe Truzman, the research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Long War Journal tweeted, "Killer Zionist dolphins exist, according to a Hamas publication." 

"Abu Hamza explains that a member of Hamas' Frogman unit who was killed by Israel during the May conflict found the killer dolphin. The device the alleged killer dolphin was wearing is shown in the publication," he added. 

In 2019, a mysterious Beluga whale was caught wearing a suspicious harness, which had a mount suited for an action camera and the text "Equipment St. Petersburg" printed on the plastic clasps, as per an AFP report. 

When Jorgen Ree Wiig, a marine biologist working with the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries tracked down the mammal with the help of a fisherman and two colleagues and they managed to remove an obviously "man-made harness attached" to it. 

"The whale is so calm around humans and goes up to boats so it seems to have been accustomed to humans," Wiig said.

Another theory supported by Wiig was that the whale could have been trained by the Russian navy as "they have been known to do so before."

The Central Intelligence Agency of the United States might have learned the hard way that cats will make bad spies. 

'Acoustic Kitty' was a CIA project and as per media reports, in the 1960s, the agency spent around $14m on the project to fit listening devices inside cats so that they can prowl around and pick up vital Russian intelligence.

However, the project was failed as on the first day, the cat was run over by a car outside the Soviet embassy in Washington. 

The use of bats appeared to be another stunning project of using animals as weapons. They are known for flying at speeds of 60 miles per hour or maybe more. They also can find their food in total darkness. 

The 'Bat Bombs' was an experimental weapon developed by the United States during World War II. Reports have mentioned that the bomb consisted of a bomb-shaped casing with over a thousand compartments, each containing a hibernating Mexican free-tailed bat with a small, timed incendiary bomb attached. 

The basic idea was to then drop the bomb over Japanese cities where they'd find buildings to roost in - and then explode. 

However, it never happened and idea remained, just an idea. 

The phrase 'fly on the wall' fits perfectly in this case as in 2008, the New Scientist reported how the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency had tried to develop cyborg insects. 

The report mentioned that wires were inserted into their nerves so they could be controlled.