lifeasdaddy - Spy squirrels sent on a mission to Iran.

I wrote here about the US Navy's program to train dolphins to defend sea ports against terror attacks.

Now, an unnamed country has released at least 14 spy squirrels on Iran's border.

From the Washington Post:

"A few weeks ago, 14 squirrels equipped with espionage systems of foreign intelligence services were captured by [Iranian] intelligence forces along the country's borders. These trained squirrels, each of which weighed just over 700 grams, were released on the borders of the country for intelligence and espionage purposes. According to the announcement made by Iranian intelligence officials, alert police officials caught these squirrels before they could carry out any task.

"Fixing GPS devices, bugging instruments and advanced cameras in the bodies of trained animals like squirrels, mice, hamsters, etc, are among modern methods of collecting intelligence. Given the fast speed and the special physical features of these animals, they provide special capabilities for spying operations. Once the animals return to their place of origin, the intelligence gathered by them is then offloaded. . . ."

[ tip from pmarca ]

Here's a link to an NPR audio story looking into the matter of spy squirrels.