In 1957 the US army donated 15 what to zoos, and sold the remainder of its stock to the public?

Question

When Major-General Benedict Arnold of the US Army planned to surrender West Point in 1780 to whom did he plan to surrender?

Answer 1

Homing pigeons
The 15 were designated "hero pigeons". During World War II, the US army's Signal Pigeon Corps had 54,000 war pigeons, over 90% of whose messages were received. In 1957, when the Corps was disbanded, there were still over 1,000 pigeons.