Wake for the Spycam Monkey

How do you photograph skittish wildlife up close and personal? Design a camera robot that looks just like them. That’s the idea behind Spy in the Wild, a new documentary series on BBC.

While the producers anticipated using the disguised cameras to get unique shots, they didn’t anticipate what would happen when a group of Langur monkeys thought the animatronic camera had “died.”

The new series, which aired Thursday in the U.K. on BBC and is set to premiere in the U.S. on PBS on February 1, aims to capture what wildlife videographers often have a hard time finding: emotions.

A preview for the series shows the monkeys interacting with the camera, but where it really starts to get interesting is when one monkey tries to play with the fake Langur and ends up bringing it into a tree — and letting go.


With animatronics only in the face, the Langurs appear to think the camera monkey has died. The unexpected turn of events allows the crew to film how the animals react when one of their own die. The monkeys gather around the motionless camera and older Langurs pull younger monkeys into a hug. more

Bird, James Bird - Suspected of Fowl Play

The Indian police on Saturday detained another pigeon that flew into a village near the heavily militarised border with Pakistan on a suspicion of 'spy'. 

The state intelligence and army officers were inspecting the pigeon that might have flown across border from Pakistan and landed in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district with some words in Urdu inscribed on its wings.

The bird was handed over to police by a local Naresh Kumar who spotted some 'suspicious text' on the wings which were actually names of the week days. The pigeon was X-rayed to verify if something was hidden inside but no clues were discovered having any links with Pakistan.

It is pertinent to mention here that in 2015, Indian authorities had captured a pigeon which was claimed to be a 'spy' pigeon from Pakistan. In 2013, Indian security forces found a dead falcon fitted with a small camera, and in 2010 another pigeon was detained over espionage fears. more

Britain's Foreign Secretary Denies Office Cat is a Spy

Britain's foreign secretary Philip Hammond was forced to issue a denial after his own Conservative party colleague claimed the "chief mouser" at the UK's Foreign Office could be a European Union (EU) spy.

Palmerston, a cat that was adopted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, had been recently announced as the "chief mouser" to help tackle the problem of mice in the building in central London.

However, as the debate around Britain's membership of the EU heats up in the lead up to the June 23 referendum, a member of the camp in favour of remaining in the economic bloc told the House of Commons yesterday that those in favour of Brexitmay fear Palmerston has not been fully vetted.

"There is a serious point here. Can I ask my right honourable friend whether Palmerston has been security cleared or not... can I ask him, has he been positively vetted by the security service and scanned for bugs by GCHQ? And can my right honourable Friend assure the House –and the more paranoid element in the Brexiters - that he isn't a long term mole working for the EU Commission," Tory MP Keith Simpson asked Hammond.

The foreign secretary chose to the address the bizarre query, claiming Palmerston's attendance record had been impeccable.

He told MPs: "He is definitely not a mole. I can categorically assure my honourable friend that Palmerston has been regularly vetted." more

Police Training Eagles to Intercept Drones

UK - The Metropolitan Police has confirmed it is considering using eagles to capture unauthorised remote controlled drones following a successful trial by Dutch police... 

A 2014 inquiry led by Sir David Omand, the former head of intelligence agency GCHQ, highlighted the serious risks posed by the devices. "Crowds at sporting events or rallies could be vulnerable if a future terrorist group were to look for means of dispersing chemical or biological agents," the report said.

Dutch police teamed up with Guard From Above, a raptor-training security firm, to teach the birds how to hunt and intercept drones. "It's a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem," Dennis Janus, a spokesman for the Netherlands' national police, said. more

Hamas Claims: We Trapped a Dolphin Spying for Israel

Hamas claimed on Wednesday that the terrorist organization trapped a dolphin that was spying for Israel.

Sources in Gaza say that the dolphin was outfitted with spyware and cameras, Army Radio reports. Israel has not confirmed that it has a dolphin spying on its behalf. more

Spycam News - Rhino Spy Cameras to Help Crackdown on Poachers

Rhinos being hunted by poachers have received a new boost thanks to a British-designed spy camera and GPS system that can be implanted in their horns.

Experts hope the technology, which also includes a heart-rate monitor that triggers an alarm if a rhino is shot, could help turn the tables on poachers.

Park rangers will be helicoptered to the scene within minutes of an alarm, guided by the GPS, giving poachers no time to escape.

The video footage captured on the horn camera can then be used as evidence to secure a conviction. more

This Month's Spy World Fails

A former police intelligence chief is required to serve up to 860 years in prison in a wiretapping case, in which he has been found guilty of wiretapping 48 people, including several government officials, journalists, judiciary personnel and businessmen. more  

China's ex-security chief Zhou Yongkang has been jailed for life - the most senior politician to face corruption charges under Communist rule. more

Pigeon arrested and jailed after police believe it’s a Pakistani spy. The would-be feathered James Bond was taken to a police station by a 14-year-old, after he discovered a mysterious note attached to the animal – which was written in Urdu and listed a Pakistani phone number. more

The former chief of the feared spy agency responsible for kidnapping, torturing and killing thousands during Chile's military dictatorship has accumulated 500 years in prison sentences. more

Paris court sentences Gilbert Chikli to prison in absentia for bamboozling 33 banks and companies in France out of millions by passing himself off as a CEO or intelligence agent. more (FutureWatch - Coming to a theater near you.)

Accused spy Thomas Rukavina killed himself Friday evening in his Plum home, but the federal probe involving industrial trade secrets, Chinese espionage and possible co-conspirators here and abroad continues. more

A Russian citizen who worked in Manhattan as a banker asked a federal judge June 11 to toss out charges that he participated in a Cold War-style Russian spy ring. Lawyers for Evgeny Buryakov, who remains in jail after his arrest in January, said the case should be disallowed despite an avalanche of video and audio recordings of his alleged spying activities collected by prosecutors. more

Care to reconsider your dream of becoming a spy?

Why Are Chipmunks Wearing Mini Spy Microphones?

Miniature Russian spyware is infiltrating an underground Canadian community.

The perpetrators? Scientists studying how eastern chipmunks communicate. For the first time, the team has outfitted the little striped animals with collars bearing inch-long (2.8 centimeters) microphones, the world's smallest digital recording device, according to Guinness World Records.

Using these espionage tools, the team recorded, analyzed, and decoded constant chipmunk chatter, instead of relying on static microphones that had previously limited scientists in understanding the secret lives of wildlife.

So far, the hardy microphones, deployed on chipmunks in southern Quebec's Green Mountains Nature Reserve, have provided unprecedented data on how and when chipmunks call, which is helping reveal the burrowing rodents' individual personalities. more w/video

Kangaroo Knocks Out Drone

The kids are scared. What's a mother to do?

After 50 Years, Charlie is Finally Employed

The US military has been developing a robotic tuna that can infiltrate enemy territory.

The spy fish, which is made to look like a bluefin tuna, weighs a hundred pounds and is 5ft long.

Dubbed Project Silent Nemo, The United States Office of Naval Research is in the process of testing the tuna. The robot is controlled by remote control but can also be programmed to swim a pre-determined route.

Nemo could see active service in as little as a year’s time. (more)

Covert Video Leaves Business Running Around Like a Chicken with its...

TN - Koch Foods on Wednesday denied its Chattanooga processing plant is inhumanely treating chickens by scalding the birds alive and shackling them upside-down before slicing open their throats, wings and chests while still conscious.

The allegations by animal protection group Mercy for Animals...
 

The Los Angeles-based group released covert video that it said was taken inside the Koch Chattanooga plant and another operation in Mississippi, complaining that workers are also cruelly throwing chickens and hiding cockroaches from federal inspectors.

The video, narrated by The Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon, demanded that Illinois-based Koch adopt new animal welfare standards to prevent future abuse. (more) 

P.S. Last year, Tennessee legislators enacted what critics dubbed an “ag-gag” bill they charged was intended to prevent investigations similar to the Mercy for Animals undercover operations as well as one that targeted Tennessee Walking Horse industry abuse.

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam vetoed the bill after getting deluged with complaints, including a plea from country music star Carrie Underwood.

Forget the Drones, Here Comes Spy Turtle

From our, "You can't make this spy stuff up" file. - Spy Dolphins Defect

Ukraine’s secret unit of spy DOLPHINS that can plant bombs and attack divers with guns have defected to Russia.

• The Ukraine Army has been using dolphins and seals since the 70s
• After the fall of the USSR, the 'dolphin spies' remained in the Ukraine
• The dolphins have been trained to hunt for mines and plant bombs
• They can also attack divers with knives or pistols attached to their heads
• Now, military dolphins in Crimea will be transferred to the Russian Navy

While the dolphins show extraordinary intelligence, sometimes they disobeyed their Ukrainian commanders.

Last year three of five spy dolphins went absent without leave in the Black Sea - apparently in search of love, but returned to their duties shortly afterwards.

Yury Plyachenko, a former Soviet naval anti-sabotage officer, explained that this was something that had to be taken into account in working with the 007 mammals.

‘If a male dolphin saw a female dolphin during the mating season, then he would immediately set off after her. But they come back in a week or so.’ (more)

The Littlest Eavesdropper

A new computer chip invented by researchers from Columbia University allows scientists to "listen in" on bacteria, as they exchange information between individual cells. Integrated circuit (IC) technology allows biologists to record images from the bacteria, as well as "listen in" to what they are saying. (more)

...and, on the other end of the spectrum...

Scientists can now spy on whales from space.
There are two ways of looking at this story. One is as a triumph of new technology: Using high-resolution satellites, scientists can identify and track whales without disturbing them in any way. The other is as a tale of space voyeurism: Scientists are spying on whales from the sky. And not just spying on whales — spying on whales while there was a good chance the whales were doing it. (more)