The long flight to teach an endangered ibis species to migrate
newyorker.com74 points by FinnLobsien 10 days ago
74 points by FinnLobsien 10 days ago
Video excerpt from Planet Earth series:https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0gy5b6x
text BBC coverage in non New Yorker style:https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231130-the-scientists-f...
All of the Planet Earth series is worth watching, if a bit depressing sometimes IMHO, the making of bits at the end of most episodes is informative as well.
It’s so common. Amazing nature documentaries filled with the wonder of life, cute animals, interesting science…and a long parade of grim warnings about ecological destruction and catastrophe.
I know why they do it, and I am already deeply concerned about that stuff, but outrage leads to fatigue.
It absolutely leads to fatigue and really keeps me from watching those shows. Like I get it… I do… but it is preachy and annoying. It feels like “buddy you are preaching to the choir but there absolutely nothing I can do”
The issues surrounding almost all of that are incredibly complex and are deeply tied to socioeconomic, political, and god knows what other factors. In all honestly they are probably unsolvable.
Show me the cute animals and let me form my own judgments. Don’t make me feel like an asshole for existing. I didn’t cause that shit and I am powerless to stop it. And even then, I don’t want to hear it in the context of that show.
One of my favorite movies as a kid was Fly Away Home which is really a similar story - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_Away_Home
TIL it is based on a true story. Going to have to re-watch this soon.
The article mentions that the film was the inspiration for the leader of this project.
I found one past thread, but I vaguely remember others—anyone?
Bird came back from extinction – scientists in glider are teaching it to migrate - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41385300 - Aug 2024 (1 comment)
How a determined scientist taught an ancient species to migrate again (2013) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8307442 - Sept 2014 (1 comment)
More on Bill Lishman:
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday...
The Supreme Leader of Russian Cranes
https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2012/sep/06/vladimir...
The long arc of entropy. Easier to not spill the glass than to clear it up, but fascinating to learn how in any case.
It is when you could leave someone else to clean it up, which is what happened here.
Hmm robot bird(s) time perhaps
edit: (to lead the migration)
Great idea! Lots of possibility! Vid, below is of a newer flapping wing "hawk" robot bird
yeah longevity is a problem, ornithopters are pretty impressive but the flapping mechanism is brutal (high rpm motor with high gearing) and the noise
not sure if the wings were covered in panels and it landed/spread its wings on the ground how long to charge
but yeah there was a hopping bird recently too so being able to take off again would be good
Two of the glider pilots raise the chicks for months at a time. So when we have something that can not only fly but hand raise chicks to full grown and also nurture that bond while on stops on the journey to teach the ibis the path.
Yeah that bond/recognition could be something (hard to do with a robot)
It might be possible, they do minimize human contact with other some other animals we are trying to raise in captivity or only have the same humans wearing a fur/feather suit/puppet to lower the animals' acclimation to other humans, so the animals stay wilder, and in this instance got the loons to associate a shade of yellow with their handlers/gliders, but definitely a hurdle to get over.
If you read the article, you will realize that the flying itself is the least problematic part.
It's sensing when the birds' mood is right, nutrition of the birds, sensing distractions and dealing with them, regrouping when the birds decide to not follow along,...
It's a really difficult and complex undertaking that isn't solvable with technology.