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A vulture with a GPS tracker attached to it has been caught in Saudi Arabia, initially setting off fears that it was a spying bird.

In a truly bizarre string of events, the vulture was actually being held on espionage charges, since its GPS tracker was labeled “Tel Aviv University.” This label on the GPS tracker set off fears that it was an Israeli spy. According to a BBC report from January 5, 2011, Saudi Arabian officials actually detained the vulture.

According to Israeli officials, the bird was simply studying migration patterns. “The device does nothing more than receive and store basic data about the bird’s whereabouts, and about his altitude and speed,” a bird specialist told Ma’ariv, an Israeli newspaper, concerned about the ethics of holding the bird hostage for an extended period of time on espionage charges.

Luckily, however, Prince Bandar bin Saud Al Saud has cleared the vulture of all espionage charges. “These [GPS tracking] systems are fitted to birds and animals, including marine animals. Most countries use these [GPS tracking] systems, including Saudi Arabia,” the prince said.

While Saud was clear that the bird was not “guilty” of espionage charges, he made it abundantly clear that he was not defending Israel at all – because that would be the ridiculous element in this story.

Not the detaining of a bird for a week on espionage charges.

Article Written by Greg Minton