In a lesser-known operation named ‘Tacana’, the CIA trained pigeons to deliver tiny cameras over Soviet areas to capture crucial intelligence. The agency developed these missions between the 1970s and 1980s, leveraging pigeons’ natural homing instincts and ability to fly undetected over enemy territory. The program was part of broader animal-based intelligence operations during the Cold War, including attempts to use cats and dolphins. While the use of technology and drones has dramatically advanced, this quirky chapter highlights the lengths to which intelligence agencies went — even recruiting our feathered friends as covert operatives!
The Great Pigeon Spy Scandal!
