This Map Shows All Of The Places Eagles Visited In One Year, And People Are Guessing Why They Stayed Clear Of The Sea (Updated)
338Kviews
Eagles are majestic creatures – not only because of their looks (because that’d be just shallow), but they’re also admired for their intelligence and incredible predatory skills. It’s no surprise that they are symbols of entire nations and countries, appear on national emblems, coins, and works of art. If you’ve ever wondered about this grand animal’s journeys, scroll down below to read an amazing story about how one man’s unexpected finding sparked curiosity for many people.
More info: Pikabu
A young man named Fahd Qash from Jizan region, Saudi Arabia found something unexpected in the swamp on his walk
Image credits: Faifa
What he found was a dead Steppe eagle with a GPS tracker device around its neck. Upon closer inspection, the man saw that the device had the owner’s email on it.
As it later turned out, the GPS has been fitted in Kazakhstan
Image credits: Faifa
The tracking device has saved all of the bird’s migration maps. Turns out, scientists were doing an experiment where they attached GPS on supposedly 20 eagles and marked every single place they visited on their long trips. The birds of prey have crossed many countries, but, interestingly enough, stayed clear of the sea.
The map below shows all the traveling that these eagles did in one year
Image credits: Faifa
These eagles have crossed many countries in the Middle East and, it is not sure why they avoided the Caspian as well as the Red Sea.
Researchers team called “British Birds” have tracked 16 Steppe eagles before and found out that the longest daily bird flight distance among all tracked eagles was approximately 355km. They have also recorded that through a complete annual cycle, an eagle spends around 31.5% in the wintering area, 41.9% in the breeding area and the rest 26.6% on migration. These statistics, as well as the map, once again proves that eagles are a constantly moving and migrating creature who travels more in their lifetimes than you could ever imagine.
This map did receive a lot of attention online with people trying to guess why did these eagles migrate the way they did
The article has been updated after receiving additional information about the research proving that this, in fact, is not a journey of one eagle in 20 years but the research that tracked numerous bird migrations in one year.
338Kviews
Share on Facebook
The information in this post is kinda wrong, actually. The map shows the routs of 22 different eagles, not one. And they had their gps-trackers attached to them in 2018, not 20 years ago. 20 years ago even computers were a rare thing in Russia, not speaking about such tracking technologies :D How do you imagine such a thing working for 20 years straight?? Besides that, those eagles are originally from Kazahstan, not Russia and those tracker marks simply show the migration of the birds for the winter time.
Thank you for providing us with the additional information, we have now updated the article.
Interesting. Do you have data or references about tracking of 22 different eagles in 2018 that generated this image? A modern small battery working for 20 years would be incredible. Not sure batteries, electronics & GPS devices were that small and sophisticated in 1998. Think of cell phones in 1998. Also, what attachment device/straps would be hardy enough to survive 20 years on an eagle with rain, snow, heat, sun, etc. The story does seem miraculous.
Yeah, I do, but I got the info from a Russian website Pikabu (I suppose it`s something like Reddit, but for Russian-speakers). If that doesn`t stop you, here`s the link: https://pikabu.ru/story/vsya_pravda_o_vyislezhivanii_orla_v_techenie_20_let_6540202 There`s a very detailed explanation from an ornithologist, who works in the prairies of Russia, Kazahstan and Mongolia. The whole story in the post seems fascinating, but I tend to believe the ornithologist more :D About the tracking device, she said it`s a thing called OrniTrack from the company Ornitela. It works with the help of a sim-card and sends messages with the gps-information every now and they. The whole thing works from a very small battery, that is solar powered.
Thank you, it all seemed wrong, now I know why
Another great reminder as to why we shouldn't always believe the first source we read on the internet (and sometimes second, third and fourth...) as face value!
I thought the email address was a give away to the BS......
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Why? Email has existed for 50 years. Mail.ru has been around for 21 years. So there's nothing about the email address that makes it implausible.
You're absolutely right. The GPS 20 years ago was also MUCH larger, required much more battery power, and 20 years ago no one with an email had such a short email.
The GPS unit that I take hiking with me was bought new in 1999. If you subtract the housing, the LCD display and the batteries, it's not terribly large or heavy. Though it would consume quite a bit of power.
It would be interesting to see if specific birds used the identical route several years in a row
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
So its again another BS story😣
Phenomenal, simply outstanding and impressive. I hope the GPS wasn't tied in to it too tightly.
He definitely had his favorite routes, didn't he? But I wonder what land feature is there along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. He only went there twice. Very cool item for someone to find.
Well, he has not entered Pakistan, its the border of Afghanistan and Iran.
The information in this post is kinda wrong, actually. The map shows the routs of 22 different eagles, not one. And they had their gps-trackers attached to them in 2018, not 20 years ago. 20 years ago even computers were a rare thing in Russia, not speaking about such tracking technologies :D How do you imagine such a thing working for 20 years straight?? Besides that, those eagles are originally from Kazahstan, not Russia and those tracker marks simply show the migration of the birds for the winter time.
Thank you for providing us with the additional information, we have now updated the article.
Interesting. Do you have data or references about tracking of 22 different eagles in 2018 that generated this image? A modern small battery working for 20 years would be incredible. Not sure batteries, electronics & GPS devices were that small and sophisticated in 1998. Think of cell phones in 1998. Also, what attachment device/straps would be hardy enough to survive 20 years on an eagle with rain, snow, heat, sun, etc. The story does seem miraculous.
Yeah, I do, but I got the info from a Russian website Pikabu (I suppose it`s something like Reddit, but for Russian-speakers). If that doesn`t stop you, here`s the link: https://pikabu.ru/story/vsya_pravda_o_vyislezhivanii_orla_v_techenie_20_let_6540202 There`s a very detailed explanation from an ornithologist, who works in the prairies of Russia, Kazahstan and Mongolia. The whole story in the post seems fascinating, but I tend to believe the ornithologist more :D About the tracking device, she said it`s a thing called OrniTrack from the company Ornitela. It works with the help of a sim-card and sends messages with the gps-information every now and they. The whole thing works from a very small battery, that is solar powered.
Thank you, it all seemed wrong, now I know why
Another great reminder as to why we shouldn't always believe the first source we read on the internet (and sometimes second, third and fourth...) as face value!
I thought the email address was a give away to the BS......
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Why? Email has existed for 50 years. Mail.ru has been around for 21 years. So there's nothing about the email address that makes it implausible.
You're absolutely right. The GPS 20 years ago was also MUCH larger, required much more battery power, and 20 years ago no one with an email had such a short email.
The GPS unit that I take hiking with me was bought new in 1999. If you subtract the housing, the LCD display and the batteries, it's not terribly large or heavy. Though it would consume quite a bit of power.
It would be interesting to see if specific birds used the identical route several years in a row
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
So its again another BS story😣
Phenomenal, simply outstanding and impressive. I hope the GPS wasn't tied in to it too tightly.
He definitely had his favorite routes, didn't he? But I wonder what land feature is there along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. He only went there twice. Very cool item for someone to find.
Well, he has not entered Pakistan, its the border of Afghanistan and Iran.