Is China using Yaks for espionage activities? – Burning Issues

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On August 31, a herd of yak crossed over from the Chinese territory into Arunachal Pradesh.

This week, 7 days after the yak herd crossed the border, in a bighearted humanitarian gesture, they’ve been handed back to their Chinese owners. For 7 days, the yaks remained under the care of the Indian Army.

In a humane gesture, Indian Army extended its arm of compassion by handing over yaks and calves strayed across the Line of Actual Control to China, said the Eastern Command, Indian Army on Monday.
The eastern command said that the Chinese officials thanked the Indian Army for the “compassionate gesture”.

COULD THESE ANIMALS HAVE BEEN SPIES?

The transgression by these animals came at a time when 1,500 km away, human soldiers from both India and China were facing off south of the Pangong Lake in Ladakh.

COULD THESE YAKS HAVE COME FITTED WITH SPYING EQUIPMENT?

The fact that the yak have been handed back likely means the Indian Army has done its due diligence, but concerns over animals being used for espionage and even covert action is not new and these measures date back decades in the 20th century.

NORWEGIAN RESEARCHERS BELIEVE A BELUGA WHALE THEY CAPTURED MAY BE A RUSSIAN SPY.

In April last year, a Beluga Whale was caught off Norway’s coast.
A highly intelligent and friendly species, the whale was found to have a harness around its head with electronic equipment used to pick up signals and intelligence.

EVEN US NAVY USES THEM

The US Navy has for decades has used trained dolphins fitted with sensors to detect underwater mines and even submarines.
A trainer with the US Navy dolphin “Shasta” in 2007. The US Navy Marine Mammal Program trains about 75 dolphins and 25 sea lions which the Navy uses for mine detection and force protection.

At the peak of the Cold War, these highly intelligent creatures were trained and enlisted with the task of keeping an eye out for Russian submarines.
Sea lions have been used for similar missions in the past.

ARE ANIMALS AS SPIES SUCCESSFUL?

Declassified documents suggest that even domesticated cats were once used by the CIA to pick up audio recordings from Soviet establishments.
How successful this program was remains a mystery, but was proof that animals of all kinds were being enlisted for covert operations.

In 2016, reports emerged to suggest that the US government had experimented with converting sharks into creatures that could be commanded to attack underwater assets and infrastructure.
Again, it is unclear if the programme ever succeeded.

ISRAEL

Israel has faced multiple allegations from its adversaries of deploying animals to spy on its neighbours.
Most notable is a 2007 incident in which Iran captured a group of squirrels near a nuclear enrichment facility and said they were there at Israel’s behest.

Iran has similarly suspected Western forces of smuggling chameleons into the country to detect uranium facilities.

Also, Saudi Arabia has in the past accused Israel of deploying Griffon Vultures to spy on its territory using high performance cameras. This was after a vulture was captured and found to have a Tel Aviv University tag on its leg in 2011.