Cat Rockets and Warmongering Dolphins: A History of Animals in War
They include cat rockets and warmongering dolphins.
March 6, 2014— -- intro: Before there were tanks, there were elephants. And before there were rocket-propelled grenades, there were rocket cats.
Humans have long used animals as means to wage war. Historians at the University of Pennsylvania recently uncovered illustrations from the 1500s that show cats and doves with some kind of jetpacks strapped to their backs. The pictures were accompanied by instructions to use the cats to set fire to a castle or city.
The cats aren't the first animals to be used in warfare. Take a look at what other animal kingdom warriors have been recruited on the battlefield.
quicklist:2title: Elephants in Battle text: Armies in India, Persia and China all used elephants to wage war in ancient times. Alexander the Great famously used elephants during his own battles in the 4th Century. The animals charged at the enemy, creating a near-stampede, forcing opposing soldiers to get out of the way or turn and run.media:22806264
quicklist:1title: War Pigs text: The Romans used squealing, hungry pigs in battle to scare off opposing soldiers and their war elephants, sometimes dousing them in flammable substances and setting them on fire. The pigs would cause the elephants to bolt, leaving their own soldiers fumbling. media:22806144
quicklist:3title: Mine-Sniffing Ratstext: A more recent war-aid is the mine-sniffing rat, developed in the 1990s to help sniff out landmines in war-torn places. The rodents are strapped into harnesses and use their superior olfactory senses to sniff out mines and then scratch and point them out for humans to remove. media:22806045
quicklist:4title: Navy Dolphinstext: The U.S. Navy attempted to train sharks to help its underwater operations, but quickly switched to dolphins in the 1960s. Now, dolphins are capable of completing dozens of underwater tasks for soldiers, including finding and recovering objects and protecting Navy divers from other prey. media:22806318
quicklist:5title: Cat Rocketstext: UPenn researchers detailed their findings about cat rockets this week to the Associated Press, including details about how the cat rockets worked.
"Create a small sack like a fire-arrow," the directions in the historical 16th-century text read, according to the AP. "If you would like to get at a town or castle, seek to obtain a cat from that place. And bind the sack to the back of the cat, ignite it, let it glow well and thereafter let the cat go, so it runs to the nearest castle or town, and out of fear it thinks to hide itself where it ends up in barn hay or straw it will be ignited."media:22805729
Related Stories
ABC News Live