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13 Times Animals Got in the Way of Important Searches
Human investigators equipped with billion-dollar radars, particle colliders, and sniffer dogs often think they have everything under control—until nature decides to intervene.
7 hours agoVerified Editorial
⏱6 Min Read
◫14 Verified Slides
From Particle Colliders To Murder Scenes, These 13 Wild Animals Completely Derailed High Stakes Investigations And Scientific Searches. 
13. Australian Cockatoos Vs. High-Speed Data CablesRogue cockatoos chewed through optical communication and search network cables across Australia. 
12. The Border Spy Pigeons Of PunjabBorder police detained pigeons suspected of espionage, combing their feathers for coded secrets. 
11. The CIA's Acoustic KittyA twenty-million-dollar surveillance cat deployed to search for Soviet conversations was immediately hit by a taxi. - AdvertisementSwipe or tap ▶ to continue countdown
10. The Stolpe Archaeological BadgersBurrowing badgers disrupted a formal excavation by digging up twelfth-century chieftains' bones. 
9. The Argentine Warehouse Marijuana MicePolice blamed hungry mice for devouring half a ton of confiscated evidence during a warehouse audit. 
8. The Arctic DEW Line GeeseCold War early-warning radar arrays mistook migrating Canada geese for a fleet of Soviet bombers. 
7. The STS-70 Space Shuttle WoodpeckersNorthern flickers drilled nearly two hundred holes in Discovery's fuel tank, scrubbing its mission. - AdvertisementSwipe or tap ▶ to continue countdown
6. Cookiecutter Sharks Vs. Nuclear SubmarinesTiny bioluminescent sharks repeatedly blinded nuclear submarine acoustic searches by taking gouging bites. 
5. The CERN Large Hadron Collider WeaselA stone marten gnawed through a high-voltage transformer, tripping the world's premier particle collider. 
4. The Holmdel Horn Antenna PigeonsPigeon nests and droppings baffled radio astronomers searching for celestial microwave signals. 
3. The Flatulent Baltic HerringSchooling fish releasing air bubbles fooled naval sonar arrays into chasing phantom stealth submarines. - AdvertisementSwipe or tap ▶ to continue countdown
2. The Jaipur Murder Evidence MonkeyA bold monkey snatched an evidence packet containing a murder weapon right outside a police locker. 
1. Canuck The Crow's Crime Scene TheftA famous crow swooped past police tape to snatch a knife from an active shooting investigation. - Advertisement
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