Since the 5th century B.C., pigeons' highly useful abilities were put into use as they are trustworthy and reliable to deliver important messages to troops and spies throughout the World Wars during that time. Additionally, they can also be trusted to transport vials of fluids and blood from different hospitals.
Such remarkable talent is credited to their ability to "hear at far lower frequencies compared to humans." Research has shown that pigeons use the sound waves that emanate from Earth as a guide in navigating to their nests with astounding accuracy.
It is as if the Earth is whispering to them the directions to follow the acoustic maps of their surroundings, and finally finding their way around. But could this talent of the pigeons being used by other countries right now to spy each other?
The Arrest of the Pigeon Accused of Being a Pakistani Spy
According to Daily Mail, the pigeon was captured near the India-Pakistan border after the police have thought of the bird as a spy from Pakistan. Geeta Devi who lives in the Kathua district of Kashmir, discovered the alleged spy after it flew inside her home on May 24.
The fowl was painted pink and was carrying around its foot a ring with numbers written on it, Senior Superintendent of Kathua Police Shailendra Kumar Mishra told The Times of India.
Furthermore, The Telegraph reported that although birds have no definite boundaries and several fly across international borders especially during migration, the authorities were alarmed to see the pigeon having a coded ring tagged to its body as migratory birds do not have such rings.
Due to this, further analysis of the pigeon is needed to identify the coded ring on its body. As of now, the pigeon is handed over to the Indian police department to be kept while it is under investigation.
A pigeon spying on the borders is not new to both countries as there have been past reports also of the same incident.
For instance, in 2015, a spying pigeon has been caught passing between the borders of India and Pakistan. The authorities intercepted the pigeon about two and a half miles from the border in the village of Manwal.
It carries the message which read: 'Tehsil Shakargarh, district Narowal' in Urdu, stamped on its tail along with some numbers. The place mentioned is the Punjab province in Pakistan.
They had the bird x-rayed, but found nothing suspicious. However, the police still kept the bird in custody and listed as a 'suspected spy.'
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Pigeons During the World Wars
During World War I from 1914 to 1918, more than 100,000 birds were responsible for sending rescue messages from soldiers to the bases, with 95% of them successfully reaching the destination with their message.
Then, on the Second World War, more than 250,000 pigeons were donated by British fanciers to help the war effort. Many of the bomber and reconnaissance aircraft that left RAF stations carried one or two homing pigeons with them, which are used to send rescue messages.
But all in all, the efforts and contribution made by the pigeons are truly remarkable. Indeed, they are the winged warriors during the two World Wars.
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