Are animals talented?
Should we describe them as remarkable?

WHAT A hide we have to question such abilities.  As if these should be terms reserved only for humans.

In: Birds without borders, Drew Rooke (Cosmos magazine, Issue 99) reports on the research that led to the amazing discoveries about the bar-tailed godwit – and the epic crossings they embark on.

Migration: innate instinct, or something more?  Since unearthing that bar-tailed godwits restructure their entire bodies for their migration, researchers have discovered some of the birds’ other remarkable  talents.  Recent satellite tracking has shown that some birds select favourable winds to depart all of the sites along their migratory route, and the days they select ensure the greatest possible overall wind assistance throughout the entirety of their flights. The implication of this is as profound as the birds’ migration. It is astounding: that they are able to detect and respond to wind and weather conditions in distant atmospheric regions.  They’re pretty decent meteorologists,” says Robert Gill, a wildlife biologist at the US Geological Survey’s Alaska Science Centre. He’s got 40 years of experience working in the field. He’s fascinated by the ability of the birds to navigate and survive for days on the wind. It is now accepted that the bar-tailed godwit flies non-stop from Alaska to their destination, which can include Australia – duration 11 days, distance 13,436 km, mean speed 51 km/hr, max. speed 122 km / hr.

These birds have capabilities that no human can come close to matching. Do they have talents? Without a doubt. Do we celebrate their achievements like we do human athletes and sports people. Not at all.  We pay them little attention. We care little if we interfere with their habitat.