Animal Journeys
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ramonmercado
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Naughty_Felid
kneesy earsy nosey
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If my old kitty Inca makes it out the patio doors these days its like something out of the Incredible journey. The lazy old minx.
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15 January 2015 Last updated at 19:02
Bar-headed geese: Highest bird migration tracked
By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News
A tracking study has revealed the secrets of the world's highest bird migration - the Himalayan flight of the bar-headed goose.
The geese have been recorded at heights of more than 7,000m (23,000ft).
Now, a team led by researchers from Bangor University has tracked the flight and revealed the basis for the birds' "rollercoaster flight" pattern.
The findings, published in Science, show how the birds hug the mountainous terrain, and that this saves energy.
Bar-headed geese have fascinated biologists for decades.
They achieve physiological feats that seem impossible - flying at extreme altitude, where there is less than 10% the oxygen found at sea level.
George Lowe, the New Zealand born climber who supported Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's ascent in 1953, said he had seen the geese flying over the top of Mount Everest - the peak is approximately 29,000ft.
And, using GPS trackers, this team has recorded one bird flying at 24,000ft.
The implanted devices also measured the acceleration, body temperature and heart rate of seven geese, caught in central Mongolia.
Data from these devices enabled the scientists to work out the birds' energy use, as well as tracking what they called their "rollercoaster" flight pattern.
While rising and falling may seem wasteful - losing hard-earned altitude, just to climb again later - these unique trackers revealed the reasons behind it.
Lead researcher Dr Charles Bishop, from Bangor University in Gwynedd, told BBC News: "When we looked at the heart rate, [it was] going up with altitude quite quickly. So flying high is really difficult.
"When we calculated what it would be like if they went up to 6,000m and stayed there, that was more expensive than hugging the ground."
He said that the geese also appeared to take advantage of deflections of wind off ridges to gain extra lift.
Even more remarkable, Dr Bishop says, is that the birds do not seem to benefit from any tail winds, and they do not soar.
"They never stop flapping their wings," he said. "And one or two [of the flights we tracked] were up to 17 hours long."
Flapping flight is an energy-intensive activity and, at high altitudes, it is even more challenging to generate lift in very thin, low density air.
Dr Lucy Hawkes, from the University of Exeter, a member of the research team, explained that in their previous studies of the birds, the researchers had found that they would often fly at night, "when the air is colder and denser".
"This would reduce the cost of flight compared to the daytime," she explained.
Dr Bishop added that these geese may represent "the limit" of what birds are capable of.
"They have found a way to cross the world's longest and highest land mass - over 500km [300 miles] - relatively easily."
"They don't train or acclimatise," he said. "They could walk on the top of Everest and have no problem at all."
He and other biologists hope, eventually, to understand the genetics of what makes these animals able to perform energetic feats at such high altitudes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30799436
Bar-headed geese: Highest bird migration tracked
By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News
A tracking study has revealed the secrets of the world's highest bird migration - the Himalayan flight of the bar-headed goose.
The geese have been recorded at heights of more than 7,000m (23,000ft).
Now, a team led by researchers from Bangor University has tracked the flight and revealed the basis for the birds' "rollercoaster flight" pattern.
The findings, published in Science, show how the birds hug the mountainous terrain, and that this saves energy.
Bar-headed geese have fascinated biologists for decades.
They achieve physiological feats that seem impossible - flying at extreme altitude, where there is less than 10% the oxygen found at sea level.
George Lowe, the New Zealand born climber who supported Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's ascent in 1953, said he had seen the geese flying over the top of Mount Everest - the peak is approximately 29,000ft.
And, using GPS trackers, this team has recorded one bird flying at 24,000ft.
The implanted devices also measured the acceleration, body temperature and heart rate of seven geese, caught in central Mongolia.
Data from these devices enabled the scientists to work out the birds' energy use, as well as tracking what they called their "rollercoaster" flight pattern.
While rising and falling may seem wasteful - losing hard-earned altitude, just to climb again later - these unique trackers revealed the reasons behind it.
Lead researcher Dr Charles Bishop, from Bangor University in Gwynedd, told BBC News: "When we looked at the heart rate, [it was] going up with altitude quite quickly. So flying high is really difficult.
"When we calculated what it would be like if they went up to 6,000m and stayed there, that was more expensive than hugging the ground."
He said that the geese also appeared to take advantage of deflections of wind off ridges to gain extra lift.
Even more remarkable, Dr Bishop says, is that the birds do not seem to benefit from any tail winds, and they do not soar.
"They never stop flapping their wings," he said. "And one or two [of the flights we tracked] were up to 17 hours long."
Flapping flight is an energy-intensive activity and, at high altitudes, it is even more challenging to generate lift in very thin, low density air.
Dr Lucy Hawkes, from the University of Exeter, a member of the research team, explained that in their previous studies of the birds, the researchers had found that they would often fly at night, "when the air is colder and denser".
"This would reduce the cost of flight compared to the daytime," she explained.
"They have found a way to cross the world's longest and highest land mass - over 500km [300 miles] - relatively easily."
"They don't train or acclimatise," he said. "They could walk on the top of Everest and have no problem at all."
He and other biologists hope, eventually, to understand the genetics of what makes these animals able to perform energetic feats at such high altitudes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30799436
FrKadash
Justified & Ancient
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There are a few threads which may have suited this article; it's not quite cryptozoology and not quite an animal journey so I've just posted it here, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...seems-they-shouldnt-survive-180954000/?no-ist
''The face of Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf (Peter Johnson/Corbis)''
''The face of Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf (Peter Johnson/Corbis)''
FrKadash
Justified & Ancient
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ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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Ruff seas.
FrKadash
Justified & Ancient
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''Schnauzer walks several blocks to find owner in the hospital''
By Jill Kasparie, KCRG-TV9
Full article here, http://www.kcrg.com/subject/news/sc...blocks-to-find-owner-in-the-hospital-20150211
By Jill Kasparie, KCRG-TV9
Full article here, http://www.kcrg.com/subject/news/sc...blocks-to-find-owner-in-the-hospital-20150211
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Clet the dolphin back in Falmouth
By CG_Mo | Posted: March 24, 2015
AN adventurous
, long-distance travelling dolphin who has captured the imaginations of people around the world has been spotted off Falmouth.
Clet, a bottlenose dolphin named by French fisherman whose boats he used to follow around, has popped back over to Cornish waters after spending some time around Scotland, the Isle of Man and Dorset.
Caz Waddell, acting marine conservation manager from Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: "We're very lucky in Cornwall that bottlenose dolphins can be seen quite regularly all around our coasts.
"However, Clet is somewhat unique; a bit of a lone ranger. His travels throughout the UK and Europe are truly remarkable, and the best part is that the majority of his movements have been tracked simply by members of the public sending in photographs."
Bottlenose dolphins tend to live together in groups, or pods, and are usually considered to be resident to a certain area. Long-distance international movements are unusual, but there are no signs that Clet is any the worse off for his adventures.
Ruth Williams, marine conservation manager from Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: "Clet has been seen in five countries since he was first recorded in 2008. The fact that he travels such large distances really challenges our understanding of the species, and also highlights the need for international collaboration when monitoring and protecting these highly mobile marine mammals."
Read more: http://www.westbriton.co.uk/Clet-dolphin-Falmouth/story-26220904-detail/story.html#ixzz3VIE5QFtn
By CG_Mo | Posted: March 24, 2015
AN adventurous
, long-distance travelling dolphin who has captured the imaginations of people around the world has been spotted off Falmouth.Clet, a bottlenose dolphin named by French fisherman whose boats he used to follow around, has popped back over to Cornish waters after spending some time around Scotland, the Isle of Man and Dorset.
Caz Waddell, acting marine conservation manager
from Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: "We're very lucky in Cornwall that bottlenose dolphins can be seen quite regularly all around our coasts."However, Clet is somewhat unique; a bit of a lone ranger. His travels throughout the UK and Europe are truly remarkable, and the best part
is that the majority of his movements have been tracked simply by members of the public sending in photographs."Bottlenose dolphins tend to live together in groups, or pods, and are usually considered to be resident to a certain area. Long-distance international movements are unusual, but there are no signs that Clet is any the worse off for his adventures
.Ruth Williams, marine conservation manager from Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: "Clet has been seen in five countries since he was first recorded in 2008. The fact that he travels such large
distances really challenges our understanding of the species, and also highlights the need for international collaboration when monitoring and protecting these highly mobile marine mammals."Read more: http://www.westbriton.co.uk/Clet-dolphin-Falmouth/story-26220904-detail/story.html#ixzz3VIE5QFtn
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Miracle return as long lost Falmouth bunny hops back after year long adventure
There was an emotional early Easter surprise for one Falmouth family when their pet bunny returned a year after being given up for dead.
Sisters Indie, 12, Alicia, 10, Olivia, 7, and Una, 5, were overjoyed when pet Snowy returned to their garden a year and a week after he disappeared during the storms which ravaged Cornwall last February.
Following weeks of searching, mother Frances and her partner Tamsin had given up hope of finding Snowy, but just weeks before they were due to move house she looked up from washing-up to see the lucky white rabbit hopping down the garden path at her home in Tresillian Road.
She said: “I dismissed it at first thinking I’m a little tired, I look away and then back again and this rabbit is further down our path.
“I went straight outside in my slippers and dressing gown and looked at this rabbit in complete disbelief thinking this surely can’t be Snowy, not after all this time. I crouched down and called him and he hopped a little closer.
“I picked him up and he instantly went floppy and didn’t try to get away, as if to say I’m home, safe and I can relax.”
Frances said her pet had been in “a bad way”: no longer white, his fur |was matted, covered in faeces and riddled with fleas, his nails were overgrown, and he had suffered an injury which had turned his left eye an opaque grey-white.
She said she “couldn’t praise Rosemullion Vets enough” after he was cleaned up and given eye-drops and antibiotics, although she was told that he will be permanently blind in one eye.
She said it was “quite impressive he survived,” and added that it was fortunate that he returned when he did, “otherwise some random person who moved in here would come and see a rabbit.”
The girls, who attend Penryn College and St Mary’s School, had been thinking about writing stories about his adventures over the last year, as Una said she thought he had gone to America, and Olivia thought maybe Disneyland.
She said she “couldn’t praise Rosemullion Vets enough” after he was cleaned up and given eye-drops and antibiotics, although she was told that he will be permanently blind in one eye.
She said it was “quite impressive he survived,” and added that it was fortunate that he returned when he did, “otherwise some random person who moved in here would come and see |a rabbit.”
The girls, who attend Penryn College and St Mary’s School, had been thinking about writing stories about his adventures over the last year, as Una said she thought he had gone to America, and Olivia thought maybe Disneyland.
When she first thought that Snowy had died, Frances had told the girls that he had gone to a nearby field to “find a girlfriend” and start a family, “which”, she added, “might be true.”
Alicia said she was “happy” and that it was “nice to groom him again,” and Una added that he “feels safe and loved.”
http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/new...y_hops_back_after_year_long_adventure/?ref=mr
There was an emotional early Easter surprise for one Falmouth family when their pet bunny returned a year after being given up for dead.
Sisters Indie, 12, Alicia, 10, Olivia, 7, and Una, 5, were overjoyed when pet Snowy returned to their garden a year and a week after he disappeared during the storms which ravaged Cornwall last February.
Following weeks of searching, mother Frances and her partner Tamsin had given up hope of finding Snowy, but just weeks before they were due to move house she looked up from washing-up to see the lucky white rabbit hopping down the garden path at her home in Tresillian Road.
She said: “I dismissed it at first thinking I’m a little tired, I look away and then back again and this rabbit is further down our path.
“I went straight outside in my slippers and dressing gown and looked at this rabbit in complete disbelief thinking this surely can’t be Snowy, not after all this time. I crouched down and called him and he hopped a little closer.
“I picked him up and he instantly went floppy and didn’t try to get away, as if to say I’m home, safe and I can relax.”
Frances said her pet had been in “a bad way”: no longer white, his fur |was matted, covered in faeces and riddled with fleas, his nails were overgrown, and he had suffered an injury which had turned his left eye an opaque grey-white.
She said she “couldn’t praise Rosemullion Vets enough” after he was cleaned up and given eye-drops and antibiotics, although she was told that he will be permanently blind in one eye.
She said it was “quite impressive he survived,” and added that it was fortunate that he returned when he did, “otherwise some random person who moved in here would come and see a rabbit.”
The girls, who attend Penryn College and St Mary’s School, had been thinking about writing stories about his adventures over the last year, as Una said she thought he had gone to America, and Olivia thought maybe Disneyland.
She said she “couldn’t praise Rosemullion Vets enough” after he was cleaned up and given eye-drops and antibiotics, although she was told that he will be permanently blind in one eye.
She said it was “quite impressive he survived,” and added that it was fortunate that he returned when he did, “otherwise some random person who moved in here would come and see |a rabbit.”
The girls, who attend Penryn College and St Mary’s School, had been thinking about writing stories about his adventures over the last year, as Una said she thought he had gone to America, and Olivia thought maybe Disneyland.
When she first thought that Snowy had died, Frances had told the girls that he had gone to a nearby field to “find a girlfriend” and start a family, “which”, she added, “might be true.”
Alicia said she was “happy” and that it was “nice to groom him again,” and Una added that he “feels safe and loved.”
http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/new...y_hops_back_after_year_long_adventure/?ref=mr
Last edited:
ramonmercado
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A stowaway kitten nicknamed Sinbad has survived an "epic" 2,000-mile voyage inside an Egyptian shipping container.
The eight-month-old ginger tabby climbed into a box of luxury linens bound for the UK from Alexandria. When the container arrived at Felixstowe, Sinbad was loaded onto a lorry and was eventually delivered to a business in Herefordshire.
The RSPCA said it was a "miracle" he had survived the 16-day journey to Moreton-on-Lugg without food or water. ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-32163740
The eight-month-old ginger tabby climbed into a box of luxury linens bound for the UK from Alexandria. When the container arrived at Felixstowe, Sinbad was loaded onto a lorry and was eventually delivered to a business in Herefordshire.
The RSPCA said it was a "miracle" he had survived the 16-day journey to Moreton-on-Lugg without food or water. ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-32163740
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Gray whale makes record migration across North Pacific
By Helen Briggs BBC Environment Correspondent 15 April 2015
A whale's journey across the Pacific Ocean is the longest recorded migration of any mammal, say scientists.
The female gray whale made a round trip of 22,500 km (14,000 miles) from the east coast of Russia to breeding grounds off Mexico and back.
The study, published in Biology Letters, raises questions about the whale's conservation status.
US and Russian biologists say a population living only on the western side of the Pacific may now be extinct.
Until now, it was believed there were two distinct groups of gray whale: the Eastern gray whale, found along the west coast of North America, and the critically-endangered Western gray whale, found along the coast of eastern Asia.
The finding that three of seven whales tagged off Russia crossed the North Pacific to breeding grounds off Mexico, suggests they may be part of the same population.
They include the female, named Varvara by scientists, who made the long migration.
"These whales were almost certainly born in Mexico (the eastern North Pacific)," said lead researcher Prof Bruce Mate of Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute.
"If this small sample size is typical, it would suggest that [the two populations are one].
"However, a logical alternative might also suggest that there are still 'true' Western gray whales, but they are not as numerous as previously thought."
etc...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32288279
By Helen Briggs BBC Environment Correspondent 15 April 2015
A whale's journey across the Pacific Ocean is the longest recorded migration of any mammal, say scientists.
The female gray whale made a round trip of 22,500 km (14,000 miles) from the east coast of Russia to breeding grounds off Mexico and back.
The study, published in Biology Letters, raises questions about the whale's conservation status.
US and Russian biologists say a population living only on the western side of the Pacific may now be extinct.
Until now, it was believed there were two distinct groups of gray whale: the Eastern gray whale, found along the west coast of North America, and the critically-endangered Western gray whale, found along the coast of eastern Asia.
The finding that three of seven whales tagged off Russia crossed the North Pacific to breeding grounds off Mexico, suggests they may be part of the same population.
They include the female, named Varvara by scientists, who made the long migration.
"These whales were almost certainly born in Mexico (the eastern North Pacific)," said lead researcher Prof Bruce Mate of Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute.
"If this small sample size is typical, it would suggest that [the two populations are one].
"However, a logical alternative might also suggest that there are still 'true' Western gray whales, but they are not as numerous as previously thought."
etc...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32288279
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Missing cat makes mystery 128-mile journey from North Wales to Yorkshire
Tabby reunited with owners in Brighouse, Yorkshire, via 'lost and found' page on Facebook five weeks after disappearing from home in Llanrwst, North Wales
By Agency
1:17PM BST 17 Apr 2015
A family thought they had lost their cat forever - before he was found 128 miles from home
George, an 18-year-old tabby, went missing from his home in Llanrwst, North Wales, on Mother's Day weekend before being reunited with his owners in Brighouse, Yorkshire, five weeks later.
His owners, Steven and Susan Davison, could not believe their luck when daughter Gemma Lemalle saw a picture of the pet on a "lost and found" Facebook page.
Mrs Lemalle got in touch with Julia Hill, who had found George near her home and now the cat has been reunited with his family
etc....
How George managed to trek 128 miles, the equivalent of a trip from London to Birmingham, remains a mystery
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...le-journey-from-North-Wales-to-Yorkshire.html
Tabby reunited with owners in Brighouse, Yorkshire, via 'lost and found' page on Facebook five weeks after disappearing from home in Llanrwst, North Wales
By Agency
1:17PM BST 17 Apr 2015
A family thought they had lost their cat forever - before he was found 128 miles from home
George, an 18-year-old tabby, went missing from his home in Llanrwst, North Wales, on Mother's Day weekend before being reunited with his owners in Brighouse, Yorkshire, five weeks later.
His owners, Steven and Susan Davison, could not believe their luck when daughter Gemma Lemalle saw a picture of the pet on a "lost and found" Facebook page.
Mrs Lemalle got in touch with Julia Hill, who had found George near her home and now the cat has been reunited with his family
etc....
How George managed to trek 128 miles, the equivalent of a trip from London to Birmingham, remains a mystery
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...le-journey-from-North-Wales-to-Yorkshire.html
hunck
Antediluvian
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- Hobbs End
It'd be interesting if one day this happened to a cat wearing one of those mini cameras or gps tracking devices. The most likely explanation is that it got in a vehicle. I suppose it could have been a catnapper but having stolen it, why let it go?
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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I guess this counts as an animal journey.
A busy stretch of motorway was left in chaos on Wednesday "due to a dog taking control of a tractor".
The bizarre incident was reported by Traffic Scotland at J13 of the M74 near Abington in South Lanarkshire.
The transport body tweeted it was "not joking" and a farmer and police were at the scene with the vehicle after it crashed into the central reservation.
The dog - believed to be a sheepdog - was unhurt after reportedly leaning on the controls of the tractor, taking it from a field on to the road. ...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...due-to-a-dog-taking-control-of-a-tractor.html
A busy stretch of motorway was left in chaos on Wednesday "due to a dog taking control of a tractor".
The bizarre incident was reported by Traffic Scotland at J13 of the M74 near Abington in South Lanarkshire.
The transport body tweeted it was "not joking" and a farmer and police were at the scene with the vehicle after it crashed into the central reservation.
The dog - believed to be a sheepdog - was unhurt after reportedly leaning on the controls of the tractor, taking it from a field on to the road. ...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...due-to-a-dog-taking-control-of-a-tractor.html
FrKadash
Justified & Ancient
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''Wild boar wanders into Hong Kong shopping mall''
11/05/15
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32688067
11/05/15
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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- Eblana
A kitten travelled more than 200 miles (322km) trapped under a car bonnet.
The woman driving the car only became aware of the kitten when she heard repeated squeaking.
She was travelling from Cornwall to London and stopped the car at Staines, Surrey, when the squeaking made her think there was a mechanical problem
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-33960936
The woman driving the car only became aware of the kitten when she heard repeated squeaking.
She was travelling from Cornwall to London and stopped the car at Staines, Surrey, when the squeaking made her think there was a mechanical problem
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-33960936
Mungoman
Mostly harmless...
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- In the Bush (Peak Hill, NSW)
Why, and the answer is - Border Collie.
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Pitbull who disappeared in Texas floods found 2000 miles away
A family in the Lone Star state is to be reunited with their dog several months after the animal was lost in freak floods
By Ruth Sherlock
6:40AM GMT 04 Nov 2015
A dog who became separated from his owners during floods in Texas this spring has been found alive and well more than 2,0000 miles from home.
Thor the pit bull disappeared after the Hurtado family escaped their home after the banks of the Blanco River in Texas broke in the spring.
The family were forced to leave their three dogs at home as they evacuated the area. They returned to find that two of the animals were safe, but that Thor was nowhere to be seen.
Then, in September a police officer in Crescent City, California, found a stray pit bull wandering the streets.
The officer took him to an animal shelter where staff were able to identify and track down Thor's owners through a microchip the dog was wearing.
It is not known what happened to Thor in those intervening months, or how he reached California.
The Hurtado family, who are still repairing the damage to their home caused by the flood, were initially unable to afford the $1,500 it would cost to ship Thor back, CBS Dallas Fort Worth reported.
But when the story of the family being separated from their beloved dog broke, people in Texas and California started volunteering ways to help.
A driver of a long-haul truck in California, who regularly makes the journey to Texas, will soon return Thor to the Lone Star state where he will be reunited with his owners.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ed-in-Texas-floods-found-2000-miles-away.html
A family in the Lone Star state is to be reunited with their dog several months after the animal was lost in freak floods
By Ruth Sherlock
6:40AM GMT 04 Nov 2015
A dog who became separated from his owners during floods in Texas this spring has been found alive and well more than 2,0000 miles from home.
Thor the pit bull disappeared after the Hurtado family escaped their home after the banks of the Blanco River in Texas broke in the spring.
The family were forced to leave their three dogs at home as they evacuated the area. They returned to find that two of the animals were safe, but that Thor was nowhere to be seen.
Then, in September a police officer in Crescent City, California, found a stray pit bull wandering the streets.
The officer took him to an animal shelter where staff were able to identify and track down Thor's owners through a microchip the dog was wearing.
It is not known what happened to Thor in those intervening months, or how he reached California.
The Hurtado family, who are still repairing the damage to their home caused by the flood, were initially unable to afford the $1,500 it would cost to ship Thor back, CBS Dallas Fort Worth reported.
But when the story of the family being separated from their beloved dog broke, people in Texas and California started volunteering ways to help.
A driver of a long-haul truck in California, who regularly makes the journey to Texas, will soon return Thor to the Lone Star state where he will be reunited with his owners.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ed-in-Texas-floods-found-2000-miles-away.html
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- 54,631
Storks shun migration for junk food
By Helen Briggs BBC News
22 January 2016
Storks feeding on rubbish dumps instead of migrating are more likely to survive the winter, research shows.
The bird is among a growing number of migratory species that have changed their behaviour due to human influences, says an international team.
Until recently, all white storks in Europe migrated south for the winter, but now more are flying shorter distances to snack on food on dumps.
The white stork breeds from Europe to north-west Africa and western Asia.
White storks in Europe have traditionally flown south to spend the winter in Africa but in recent decades an increasing number have stayed closer to home, drawn to the food discarded at landfill sites.
A team lead by Dr Andrea Flack of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany used GPS devices to study the migratory habits of 70 young storks from eight different countries during their first migration.
The research, published in Science Advances, tracked birds hatched in Armenia, Greece, Poland, Russia, Spain, Germany, Tunisia and Uzbekistan.
The study found that storks from Russia, Poland and Greece followed the traditional migratory route of flying south as far as South Africa.
However, birds from Spain, Tunisia and Germany lingered north of the Sahara; birds from Armenia flew only a short distance; and, surprisingly, birds from Uzbekistan stayed in their home country.
etc...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35373746
By Helen Briggs BBC News
22 January 2016
Storks feeding on rubbish dumps instead of migrating are more likely to survive the winter, research shows.
The bird is among a growing number of migratory species that have changed their behaviour due to human influences, says an international team.
Until recently, all white storks in Europe migrated south for the winter, but now more are flying shorter distances to snack on food on dumps.
The white stork breeds from Europe to north-west Africa and western Asia.
White storks in Europe have traditionally flown south to spend the winter in Africa but in recent decades an increasing number have stayed closer to home, drawn to the food discarded at landfill sites.
A team lead by Dr Andrea Flack of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany used GPS devices to study the migratory habits of 70 young storks from eight different countries during their first migration.
The research, published in Science Advances, tracked birds hatched in Armenia, Greece, Poland, Russia, Spain, Germany, Tunisia and Uzbekistan.
The study found that storks from Russia, Poland and Greece followed the traditional migratory route of flying south as far as South Africa.
However, birds from Spain, Tunisia and Germany lingered north of the Sahara; birds from Armenia flew only a short distance; and, surprisingly, birds from Uzbekistan stayed in their home country.
etc...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35373746
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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- Eblana
NAPLES, Fla. — It takes about 22 hours to reach Florida by car for a person traveling from Wisconsin.
But if you're a cat, the 1,484-mile journey likely takes closer to two months. At least that's how long it took Nadia, the Russian blue, to trek from her home on a snowy December day to sunny Naples this week where animal officials helped find her owners.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/offbeat/wisconsin-cat-disappears-reappears-in-florida/ar-BBq4XVC
But if you're a cat, the 1,484-mile journey likely takes closer to two months. At least that's how long it took Nadia, the Russian blue, to trek from her home on a snowy December day to sunny Naples this week where animal officials helped find her owners.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/offbeat/wisconsin-cat-disappears-reappears-in-florida/ar-BBq4XVC
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
How the ‘animal internet’ sheds light on the secrets of migration
Digital tracking of creatures from tiny birds to whales offers up new data on the epic trips some species make, and their role in ecology and economics
John Vidal
Saturday 11 June 2016 20.12 BST
Aristotle thought the mysterious silver eel emerged from the earth fully formed. The young Sigmund Freud could not understand how it reproduced, and modern biologists puzzled for years over whether it ever returned to the Sargasso Sea, where it was known to breed.
Last year a team of Canadian scientists found conclusive proof of that extraordinary journey. They strapped tracking devices to 38 eels and followed as they migrated more than 900 miles at a depth of nearly a mile to the Sargasso, in the Atlantic near Bermuda. This year French researchers used geolocators to watch them descending European rivers and passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, heading for the same spot.
The extraordinary secrets of the thousands of species of birds, fish, mammals, insects and reptiles that make epic journeys to feeding or breeding grounds are being unlocked by a fast-emerging “animal internet”.
The eels’ migration bears comparison to that of the Arctic tern, which last week was shown by Newcastle University scientists to have made the longest-known migration, a 60,000-mile round trip between Northumberland and its winter home in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica.
Until now the details of this tiny bird’s massive journey were little known. Over its lifetime, said the researchers, it might fly more than 1.8 million miles – almost the equivalent of four trips to the Moon and back.
“We are at a time of great, new and rapid understandings about migrations,” says RSPB senior scientist John Mallord. “Technology is driving a revolution. With birds, it is showing us a far fuller picture of where they go and where they stop. We see now that birds may spend different lengths of time in different places. Some months are spent moving, some feeding up. In the past we had only pinpoints provided by ringing. We had no idea what happened along the route.”
According to Alexander Pschera, author of a new book, Animal Internet: Nature and the Digital Revolution, new data about migratory animals will not only aid conservation but could radically transform our relationship with the natural world, showing scientists which areas need protection, and providing warnings of extreme weather.
About 50,000 creatures, from whales and leopards to bats and snails, are being fitted with tracking devices that will show precisely where and how they migrate from breeding grounds to winter homes, he says.
“The animal internet will change nature,” he says. “More wild animals are being fitted with sensors every day and a huge store of data is coming together. We can already foresee its revolutionary effects on our awareness and knowledge of nature.”
Some of the greatest advances in migration knowledge are coming from the seas. A great white shark was found to have swum more than 12,500 miles from South Africa to Australia and back in nine months. A 90kg bluefin tuna crossed the Pacific three times in 20 months, the equivalent of a 25,000-mile journey.
The information is helping marine scientists and policymakers better estimate numbers and degrees of danger. The Tagging of Pacific Pelagics (Topp) project has followed fish, turtles, birds, seals, whales and squid as they crisscross the Pacific. A spokesman said: “Humans have pursued sea creatures for thousands of years, but our understanding of their lives remains fragmentary. Recent advances will soon provide near-real-time, narrative visualisations of these animals’ lives.”
It has become clear that animals have far more complex existences than had been thought. Alpine swifts are now known to spend more than six months at a time on the wing. Grey whales may travel 14,000 miles in six months. Even house cats are found to patrol complex, overlapping territories.
“Titan”, a turtle dove, surprised RSPB scientists. Last year it stopped off in Spain and Morocco on its way to its usual wintering grounds in Senegal. But in 2014 it travelled via Mauritania and Mali. Mallord said: “We found Titan did not have a single wintering area. The tracking showed that there was flexibility [in where he travelled], and different degrees of faithfulness.”
According to Jan Boon of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, the new data shows birds to be individuals. “We can see that birds such as the red knot can act like humans. Their migrations may depend on their personalities. Some go to the Arctic; others are ‘stick in the muds’ and stay at home. Both strategies are successful.”
The data is helping governments understand that many migrations are beneficial economically as well as ecologically. When two million wildebeest travel in a loop from the Serengeti in Tanzania to Kenya’s Masai Mara each year, their dung not only encourages new plant growth and soil renewal but attracts tens of thousands of tourists.
But, says David Wilcove, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton University, animal migration is increasingly endangered. “In virtually every corner of the globe, migratory animals face a growing array of threats, including habitat destruction, over-exploitation, disease and climate change. Saving the great migrations will be one of the biggest conservation challenges of the 21st century. But if we fail, we will pay a heavy price, aesthetically, ecologically and economically.”
He points to overgrazing and desertification in Africa’s Sahel, which is harming populations of songbirds; the slaughter of birds passing over the Mediterranean; the loss of elk migratory routes to development in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem; and threats to African wildlife as intensive farming spreads.
“We’re getting a far deeper understanding of the threats animals face,” says Mallord. “Being migratory adds an extra cost, however impressive the journey.”
etc, etc...
http://www.theguardian.com/environm...-internet-digital-tracking-wildlife-migration
Digital tracking of creatures from tiny birds to whales offers up new data on the epic trips some species make, and their role in ecology and economics
John Vidal
Saturday 11 June 2016 20.12 BST
Aristotle thought the mysterious silver eel emerged from the earth fully formed. The young Sigmund Freud could not understand how it reproduced, and modern biologists puzzled for years over whether it ever returned to the Sargasso Sea, where it was known to breed.
Last year a team of Canadian scientists found conclusive proof of that extraordinary journey. They strapped tracking devices to 38 eels and followed as they migrated more than 900 miles at a depth of nearly a mile to the Sargasso, in the Atlantic near Bermuda. This year French researchers used geolocators to watch them descending European rivers and passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, heading for the same spot.
The extraordinary secrets of the thousands of species of birds, fish, mammals, insects and reptiles that make epic journeys to feeding or breeding grounds are being unlocked by a fast-emerging “animal internet”.
The eels’ migration bears comparison to that of the Arctic tern, which last week was shown by Newcastle University scientists to have made the longest-known migration, a 60,000-mile round trip between Northumberland and its winter home in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica.
Until now the details of this tiny bird’s massive journey were little known. Over its lifetime, said the researchers, it might fly more than 1.8 million miles – almost the equivalent of four trips to the Moon and back.
“We are at a time of great, new and rapid understandings about migrations,” says RSPB senior scientist John Mallord. “Technology is driving a revolution. With birds, it is showing us a far fuller picture of where they go and where they stop. We see now that birds may spend different lengths of time in different places. Some months are spent moving, some feeding up. In the past we had only pinpoints provided by ringing. We had no idea what happened along the route.”
According to Alexander Pschera, author of a new book, Animal Internet: Nature and the Digital Revolution, new data about migratory animals will not only aid conservation but could radically transform our relationship with the natural world, showing scientists which areas need protection, and providing warnings of extreme weather.
About 50,000 creatures, from whales and leopards to bats and snails, are being fitted with tracking devices that will show precisely where and how they migrate from breeding grounds to winter homes, he says.
“The animal internet will change nature,” he says. “More wild animals are being fitted with sensors every day and a huge store of data is coming together. We can already foresee its revolutionary effects on our awareness and knowledge of nature.”
Some of the greatest advances in migration knowledge are coming from the seas. A great white shark was found to have swum more than 12,500 miles from South Africa to Australia and back in nine months. A 90kg bluefin tuna crossed the Pacific three times in 20 months, the equivalent of a 25,000-mile journey.
The information is helping marine scientists and policymakers better estimate numbers and degrees of danger. The Tagging of Pacific Pelagics (Topp) project has followed fish, turtles, birds, seals, whales and squid as they crisscross the Pacific. A spokesman said: “Humans have pursued sea creatures for thousands of years, but our understanding of their lives remains fragmentary. Recent advances will soon provide near-real-time, narrative visualisations of these animals’ lives.”
It has become clear that animals have far more complex existences than had been thought. Alpine swifts are now known to spend more than six months at a time on the wing. Grey whales may travel 14,000 miles in six months. Even house cats are found to patrol complex, overlapping territories.
“Titan”, a turtle dove, surprised RSPB scientists. Last year it stopped off in Spain and Morocco on its way to its usual wintering grounds in Senegal. But in 2014 it travelled via Mauritania and Mali. Mallord said: “We found Titan did not have a single wintering area. The tracking showed that there was flexibility [in where he travelled], and different degrees of faithfulness.”
According to Jan Boon of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, the new data shows birds to be individuals. “We can see that birds such as the red knot can act like humans. Their migrations may depend on their personalities. Some go to the Arctic; others are ‘stick in the muds’ and stay at home. Both strategies are successful.”
The data is helping governments understand that many migrations are beneficial economically as well as ecologically. When two million wildebeest travel in a loop from the Serengeti in Tanzania to Kenya’s Masai Mara each year, their dung not only encourages new plant growth and soil renewal but attracts tens of thousands of tourists.
But, says David Wilcove, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton University, animal migration is increasingly endangered. “In virtually every corner of the globe, migratory animals face a growing array of threats, including habitat destruction, over-exploitation, disease and climate change. Saving the great migrations will be one of the biggest conservation challenges of the 21st century. But if we fail, we will pay a heavy price, aesthetically, ecologically and economically.”
He points to overgrazing and desertification in Africa’s Sahel, which is harming populations of songbirds; the slaughter of birds passing over the Mediterranean; the loss of elk migratory routes to development in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem; and threats to African wildlife as intensive farming spreads.
“We’re getting a far deeper understanding of the threats animals face,” says Mallord. “Being migratory adds an extra cost, however impressive the journey.”
etc, etc...
http://www.theguardian.com/environm...-internet-digital-tracking-wildlife-migration
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Kitten 'travels 300 miles' in Navy pilot's car bumper
Photo: Paula Barrow
A kitten thought to have climbed inside a car bumper was discovered after a 300-mile journey.
Royal Navy pilot Lt Nick Grimmer heard the kitten meowing a day after travelling from Birmingham to the Royal Naval Air Station in Culdrose.
He dismantled the car with colleagues and found the kitten hiding inside the bumper of his BMW.
The kitten has been named Tigger by the pilot's colleagues in the 814 Naval Air Squadron, known as the Flying Tigers.
Lt Grimmer, 32, said: "The place he has felt most comfortable is in my flying helmet, which is the only place he is able to sleep."
The pilot picked up his car at Birmingham Airport on Monday and drove to the air base via Bristol and Bath.
He thought it most likely the kitten had climbed inside the car while it was parked for several days at Birmingham Airport.
He said the kitten was unharmed by the journey and he and colleagues are now trying to find his owners.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-36532687
Photo: Paula Barrow
A kitten thought to have climbed inside a car bumper was discovered after a 300-mile journey.
Royal Navy pilot Lt Nick Grimmer heard the kitten meowing a day after travelling from Birmingham to the Royal Naval Air Station in Culdrose.
He dismantled the car with colleagues and found the kitten hiding inside the bumper of his BMW.
The kitten has been named Tigger by the pilot's colleagues in the 814 Naval Air Squadron, known as the Flying Tigers.
Lt Grimmer, 32, said: "The place he has felt most comfortable is in my flying helmet, which is the only place he is able to sleep."
The pilot picked up his car at Birmingham Airport on Monday and drove to the air base via Bristol and Bath.
He thought it most likely the kitten had climbed inside the car while it was parked for several days at Birmingham Airport.
He said the kitten was unharmed by the journey and he and colleagues are now trying to find his owners.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-36532687
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Gone fishing: Gannet makes record breaking 1,700-mile trip
Week-long foraging trip from the Channel Islands to Scandinavian waters and back is the longest recorded for the species, conservationists say
Press Association
Thursday 7 July 2016 12.41 BST
A gannet has returned home after a fishing trip of almost 1,700 miles (2,700 km), the longest recorded for the species, conservationists said.
Cosmo, a northern gannet which lives on Alderney in the Channel Islands, made the foraging trip up the English Channel, across the North Sea and into Scandinavian waters - and back - in less than a week.
His journey of around 1,680 miles was tracked using a tag which sends live data through the 3G mobile network.
It is well above the usual 200 to 300 miles gannets travel on their fishing trips, and is thought to be the longest northern gannet foraging trip recorded.
The bird is one of a number of northern gannets being tracked with the transmitters in a project by Alderney Wildlife Trust (AWT), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the University of Liverpool to assess their foraging habits.
Claire Thorpe of AWT said: “This is very exciting news for our track-a-gannet project and the information will be hugely important for the conservation of our wonderful seabirds.
“Data like this is really important because it shows that we need international collaborative effort to protect our seabird species and monitor developments in the Channel and beyond.”
The track-a-gannet scheme was prompted by the increase in renewable energy projects planned for the Channel, with concerns that schemes such as the Rampion windfarm off the coast of Brighton could have direct impacts on birds such as gannets.
Around 8,500 breeding pairs of northern gannets, around 2% of the world’s population, nest in two colonies on rocky offshore islets in Alderney, at the southerly end of the bird’s range.
Last year a study tracking gannets nesting on Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, warned that the seabirds could be at much greater risk from offshore wind turbines than previously thought, owing to the height at which they fly.
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...g-gannet-makes-record-breaking-1700-mile-trip
Week-long foraging trip from the Channel Islands to Scandinavian waters and back is the longest recorded for the species, conservationists say
Press Association
Thursday 7 July 2016 12.41 BST
A gannet has returned home after a fishing trip of almost 1,700 miles (2,700 km), the longest recorded for the species, conservationists said.
Cosmo, a northern gannet which lives on Alderney in the Channel Islands, made the foraging trip up the English Channel, across the North Sea and into Scandinavian waters - and back - in less than a week.
His journey of around 1,680 miles was tracked using a tag which sends live data through the 3G mobile network.
It is well above the usual 200 to 300 miles gannets travel on their fishing trips, and is thought to be the longest northern gannet foraging trip recorded.
The bird is one of a number of northern gannets being tracked with the transmitters in a project by Alderney Wildlife Trust (AWT), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the University of Liverpool to assess their foraging habits.
Claire Thorpe of AWT said: “This is very exciting news for our track-a-gannet project and the information will be hugely important for the conservation of our wonderful seabirds.
“Data like this is really important because it shows that we need international collaborative effort to protect our seabird species and monitor developments in the Channel and beyond.”
The track-a-gannet scheme was prompted by the increase in renewable energy projects planned for the Channel, with concerns that schemes such as the Rampion windfarm off the coast of Brighton could have direct impacts on birds such as gannets.
Around 8,500 breeding pairs of northern gannets, around 2% of the world’s population, nest in two colonies on rocky offshore islets in Alderney, at the southerly end of the bird’s range.
Last year a study tracking gannets nesting on Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, warned that the seabirds could be at much greater risk from offshore wind turbines than previously thought, owing to the height at which they fly.
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...g-gannet-makes-record-breaking-1700-mile-trip
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
This is an animal journey with a difference:
Man takes terminally ill dog on farewell cross-country road trip
Adam Boult
13 July 2016 • 6:26pm
Rob Kugler, a former marine from Nebraska, was devastated when he learned his dog, Bella, had terminal cancer.
The chocolate lab was diagnosed with osteo-sarcoma – cancer of the bones - in May 2015, and the decision was taken to amputate her front left leg. "If you don't want to take the leg,” the vet told Rob, “you should put her down today, because she's in so much pain. However, it won't save her, because the cancer is in her lungs, and you're looking at 3-6 months."
However, 14 months on Bella is still going strong – and recently embarked on her second long-distance trip around the US.
“The first was supposed to be her ‘Farewell Trip,’ Rob writes on his website. “We travelled for five months, and covered thousands of miles … with many havens on couches and guest beds of the friends I've been fortunate enough to make across the country in my short lifetime. It was an incredible and unforgettable experience.”
However, three months after they returned home to Nebraska, with Bella still in good shape, Rob decided to embark on another trip – one they’re still on.
“Starting only a few hundred miles to Southern Missouri, the trip got extended to Kentucky, then to Nashville, then clear to the Carolina coast to help a friend,” Rob says. “We hurled ourselves right back into it, again, without a plan other than seeing who we know where and who would like to meet Bella along the way.”
He’s documenting his and Bella’s adventures on his website and on Instagram. "I lost my brother in Iraq in 2007 and my oldest sister in a car accident two Easters ago,” he told Mashable. “When you see lives end shortly before people get to do many of things they dream of doing, it changes your perspective on life."
In an interview with WOWT News he added: "I feel like right now this is my purpose.It's chapter in my life right now is just exploring with my dog.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...-ill-dog-on-farewell-cross-country-road-trip/
Some excellent photos in article. Rob's care and love for Bella is surely helping her survival.
Man takes terminally ill dog on farewell cross-country road trip
Adam Boult
13 July 2016 • 6:26pm
Rob Kugler, a former marine from Nebraska, was devastated when he learned his dog, Bella, had terminal cancer.
The chocolate lab was diagnosed with osteo-sarcoma – cancer of the bones - in May 2015, and the decision was taken to amputate her front left leg. "If you don't want to take the leg,” the vet told Rob, “you should put her down today, because she's in so much pain. However, it won't save her, because the cancer is in her lungs, and you're looking at 3-6 months."
However, 14 months on Bella is still going strong – and recently embarked on her second long-distance trip around the US.
“The first was supposed to be her ‘Farewell Trip,’ Rob writes on his website. “We travelled for five months, and covered thousands of miles … with many havens on couches and guest beds of the friends I've been fortunate enough to make across the country in my short lifetime. It was an incredible and unforgettable experience.”
However, three months after they returned home to Nebraska, with Bella still in good shape, Rob decided to embark on another trip – one they’re still on.
“Starting only a few hundred miles to Southern Missouri, the trip got extended to Kentucky, then to Nashville, then clear to the Carolina coast to help a friend,” Rob says. “We hurled ourselves right back into it, again, without a plan other than seeing who we know where and who would like to meet Bella along the way.”
He’s documenting his and Bella’s adventures on his website and on Instagram. "I lost my brother in Iraq in 2007 and my oldest sister in a car accident two Easters ago,” he told Mashable. “When you see lives end shortly before people get to do many of things they dream of doing, it changes your perspective on life."
In an interview with WOWT News he added: "I feel like right now this is my purpose.It's chapter in my life right now is just exploring with my dog.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...-ill-dog-on-farewell-cross-country-road-trip/
Some excellent photos in article. Rob's care and love for Bella is surely helping her survival.
uair01
Antediluvian
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2005
- Messages
- 5,459
- Location
- The Netherlands
Cat lost in Belfast 18 months ago found roaming the streets of Liverpool
http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...reets-of-liverpool/ar-BBuKRtf?ocid=spartandhp
“We’ve absolutely no idea how he got to Liverpool,” she said. “I’ve had him since he was a kitten, but he disappeared about 18 months ago and I assumed the worst. Ms Blair told reporters she had bottle-fed Sapeurs since he was a kitten and had taken him on as a pet after he was abandoned by his previous owner.
http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...reets-of-liverpool/ar-BBuKRtf?ocid=spartandhp
“We’ve absolutely no idea how he got to Liverpool,” she said. “I’ve had him since he was a kitten, but he disappeared about 18 months ago and I assumed the worst. Ms Blair told reporters she had bottle-fed Sapeurs since he was a kitten and had taken him on as a pet after he was abandoned by his previous owner.
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2003
- Messages
- 58,240
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- Eblana
Scousers In International Kitnapping Ring.
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- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Rio the cat reunited with Bristol family after six months missing in Cornwall
By Jeff_Reines | Posted: June 03, 2017
A pet cat has been reunited with is family more than 150 miles away after taking a six-month 'holiday' to Cornwall.
Rio the cat's owners said he had been missing from home in Bristol for six months after they were contacted by a local animal charity.
The pet had been brought in to the National Animal Welfare Trust in Hayle and staff were somewhat surprised when they realised how far from home he was.
The family said he had not been seen since December and they had been desperate to have him back.
He was taken to the charity as a stray on Tuesday and scanned for a microchip, which is a standard procedure for the trust's unknown arrivals. Rio did have a chip and the staff checked the details and discovered how long he had been away from home as he was noted as missing since last year.
The stunned and delighted owners, who had feared the worst after so much time, got in the car and headed straight for Cornwall.
National Animal Welfare Trust manager Louis Clarke told Pirate FM: "It was really lovely, they literally dropped everything and got in the car straight away and drove all the way here. As soon as he realised it was them he was purring and they picked him up and all passed him round giving him cuddles, I'm sure he knew it was them because he was so happy.
"It was so tearful, it was a complete shock to them, they had almost given up hope. They had put so many posters up and been on their local radio in Bristol and had even contacted their local council to see if he had been run over and collected that way."
The trust said the happy ending emphasised the importance of having pets microchipped.
http://www.cornwalllive.com/rio-the...-in-cornwall/story-30369476-detail/story.html
By Jeff_Reines | Posted: June 03, 2017
A pet cat has been reunited with is family more than 150 miles away after taking a six-month 'holiday' to Cornwall.
Rio the cat's owners said he had been missing from home in Bristol for six months after they were contacted by a local animal charity.
The pet had been brought in to the National Animal Welfare Trust in Hayle and staff were somewhat surprised when they realised how far from home he was.
The family said he had not been seen since December and they had been desperate to have him back.
He was taken to the charity as a stray on Tuesday and scanned for a microchip, which is a standard procedure for the trust's unknown arrivals. Rio did have a chip and the staff checked the details and discovered how long he had been away from home as he was noted as missing since last year.
The stunned and delighted owners, who had feared the worst after so much time, got in the car and headed straight for Cornwall.
National Animal Welfare Trust manager Louis Clarke told Pirate FM: "It was really lovely, they literally dropped everything and got in the car straight away and drove all the way here. As soon as he realised it was them he was purring and they picked him up and all passed him round giving him cuddles, I'm sure he knew it was them because he was so happy.
"It was so tearful, it was a complete shock to them, they had almost given up hope. They had put so many posters up and been on their local radio in Bristol and had even contacted their local council to see if he had been run over and collected that way."
The trust said the happy ending emphasised the importance of having pets microchipped.
http://www.cornwalllive.com/rio-the...-in-cornwall/story-30369476-detail/story.html