(CNN NEWSOURCE)-- Move over high-tech drones.
Local Lebanese media accused a vulture of being an old-school, low-tech spy for Israel.
Reports came in that the female vulture was being held by locals in Lebanon, suspecting it was a spy because it had Israeli tags and devices.
It turns out she disappeared from a nature preserve in Israel earlier this week.
The vulture came to Israel as a gift from Spain about two months ago.
The head of the preserve said since Lebanon and Israel do not have diplomatic relations, the United Nations stepped in to make the transfer back from Lebanon.
The Lebanese army gave the vulture to the UN, which passed it on to its Israeli caretakers.
When it was returned, the bird was missing her GPS tracker.
This situation is not unique.
The vulture is just the latest animal suspected of espionage in the fog of mistrust and conspiracy that typifies Israel’s relationship with the rest of the Middle East.
Israel has also been accused of using sharks, another vulture and even a dolphin to work against its neighbors.