Old and busted: Jonathan Livingston Seagull
New hotness: Yonatan Lebanon Seagull
Reseachers at Ramat Gan Safari attached a surveillance transmitter to a seagull’s leg for research purposes, and set it free. Unfortunately, the bird landed in Tripoli, where it was soon caught and transferred to the authorities on suspicion of spying for Israel.
How does a wounded gull becomes an Israeli spy? Ask the media outlets in Arab countries.
This story began a few months ago when a sick seagull discovered in Eilat was transferred to the veterinary hospital at Ramat Gan Safari. In April, the bird recovered and was released near Atlit, a small town located on the northern coast.
Before its release, researchers attached a GPS-based satellite transmitter onto the seagull’s leg, in order to track the bird’s migration route.
The gull arrived at Tripoli, Libya. Unfortunately,locals noticed the transmitter attached to its leg, and apparently transferred the bird to the authorities.
The authorities suspected that the seagull was part of an Israeli espionage plot, and Arab media outlets published pictures of the seagull with the transmitter alongside a caption accusing the bird of espionage: “engaged in spying for Israel.”
The transmitter indicated that the bird was later transferred to a villa in Beirut, Lebanon. Apparently, the flapping bird had undergone a thorough examination there, perhaps by Hezbollah members.
On August 15, the GPS device stopped transmitting signals on its location, apparently because it had been neutralized. The seagull’s fate remains unknown.
Talk about getting in a flap. Bird brains.
