Max The Stork Achieves World Record For Satellite Tracking

FLORA AND FAUNA

Maximum coverage of the stork.

by Staff Writers
Geneva (AFP) Sep 19, 2006
A stork called Max has achieved a world record after spending more than seven years under satellite surveillance, the longest ever duration for an animal, scientists in Switzerland said Tuesday. Every movement of the female White Stork has been tracked since July 5, 1999, beating the previous record duration held by an American Bald Eagle, according to the Natural History Museum in the Swiss city of Fribourg.

"Currently it is the only living animal which has been carrying an Argos satellite beacon on its back for more than 2,628 days," Andre Fasel, curator of the museum, told AFP. The duration was recorded by the satellite firm, he added.

Max's record coincided with her arrival for autumn and winter in Morocco this week, after she left her summer nest in the southern German village of Tuefingen on September 1.

The stork was born in capitivity in Switzerland after her exhausted mother was taken under the wing of ornithologists nine years ago.

After nesting, Max eventually flew off equipped with the solar-powered beacon, allowing scientists to plot the bird's migratory habits between central Europe, Spain and north Africa.

Fasel said the project that initially involved 26 storks was aimed at identifying dangers for the migrating birds.

The scientists discovered that water towers and reservoirs in southern France were sometimes death traps, as well as power lines near Barcelona and a toxic waste dump near Seville in Spain.

"In France measures were taken to make water towers safe," Fasel said.

The bird's daily movements can be followed on the museum's website. Max spent Monday night 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of the Moroccan capital, Rabat.

Max was named prematurely after a male Swiss ornithologist, although scientists have difficulty telling the sex of newborn storks.

Source: Agence France-Presse

FLORA AND FAUNA

Paleontologists Find 67 Dinosaurs In One Week Across Gobi Desert

Bozeman MT (SPX) Sep 18, 2006
One recent week in the Gobi Desert produced 67 dinosaur skeletons for a team of paleontologists from Montana and Mongolia who want to flesh out the developmental biology of dinosaurs. Montana State University paleontologist Jack Horner said Wednesday that the same area yielded 30 skeletons last year, so researchers at MSU and Mongolia's Science and Technology University now have about 100 Psittacosaurus skeletons. The skeletons ranged in length from one to five feet and stood about two feet tall.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT Analysis: Strengthening FEMA in DHS Ideas To Rebuild Hurricane-Devastated New Orleans Showcased At Italian Fair China's natural disasters cost billions, kill thousands: report The Role Of Academia In The Global Aid Industry	CLIMATE SCIENCE Getting To The Core Of Climate Secrets Subdivisions Replace Trees In Cities Adding to Urban Hot Spots Computer Model Looks At How To Cool The Earth Back Down Warming Climate May Put Chill On Arctic Polar Bear Population
EARTH OBSERVATION Imaging Devices Drive Booming EO Systems Market Envisat Symposium 2007 Highlights EO Satellite Achievements GeoEye Approved For Listing On The Nasdaq Global Market Scientists Sketch City In Geocyberspace	ENERGY TECH New Ethanol Process Offers Lower Costs, Environmental Benefits Deep-Sea Oil Rigs Inspire MIT Designs For Giant Wind Turbines Russia Tightening Grip On Energy Sector With Sakhalin Move China Urges Stable International Environment For Energy Security
EPIDEMICS HPV Vaccine Drawing Attention On All Sides Analysis: Malaria In The Spotlight Researchers Uncover A Secret Of The Black Death Existing Vaccine Facilities Can Handle Flu Pandemic	FLORA AND FAUNA Max The Stork Achieves World Record For Satellite Tracking Paleontologists Find 67 Dinosaurs In One Week Across Gobi Desert California Scientists Find Natural Way To Control Spread Of Destructive Argentine Ants US Court Jails Animal Rights Activists
FROTH AND BUBBLE Philippines Oil-Spill Tanker 'May Have Sunk During Cargo Heist' Study To Forecast Side-Effects Of Pollution Policy Residents Riot As Ivory Coast Promises Start To Toxic Waste Clean-Up Watchdog Calls For severe Punishment For Pollution Cases In China	ABOUT US 450,000 Passengers Carried On Qinghai-Tibet Railway Human Rights Groups Slam France Over Grouped Deportations You May Be Losing More Than Just Your Memory Modern Humans, Not Neandertals, May Be Evolution's 'Odd Man Out'

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement