[OT] Mary of Exeter, Pigeon Extraordinaire

I'm watching a really interesting Animal Planet special on WWII messenger
pigeons.

When I watched "Valiant" (an animated movie about WWI messenger pigeons)
with my grandchildren, I thought it was a made-up story (not about the
messenger pigeons, but about the falcons who were their enemy). Not so!
The Germans really did train falcons to kill the messenger pigeons who were
helping us win the war.

One amazing pigeon, Mary of Exeter, delivered her first message after
surviving an almost fatal falcon attack. Mary's owner was pressured to put
her immediately back into service and, after getting 26 stitches in her
chest, she went on to deliver message after message to the allies -
repeatedly suffering injuries by falcons.

There were even "undercover" pigeons who infiltrated the German pigeon coops
and were used to intercept German messages!

Pigeons were actually awarded medals for their bravery and service to the
war effort.

Hugs,

CatNipped

CatNipped wrote:

I'm watching a really interesting Animal Planet special on WWII messenger
pigeons.

When I watched "Valiant" (an animated movie about WWI messenger pigeons)
with my grandchildren, I thought it was a made-up story (not about the
messenger pigeons, but about the falcons who were their enemy). Not so!
The Germans really did train falcons to kill the messenger pigeons who were
helping us win the war.

Couldn't have needed much "training" - just having a few
hunting birds handy! (SFAIK, pigeons are among a falcon's
most common prey, and falconry is still a popular sport,
among those who can afford it.)