July 2021 - Favorite World Press

The FWP weekly digest of wondrous wildlife happenings
and other interesting items from the natural world

Creatures to meet | Things to learn
Things to do

Lisa S. French

1.5-minute read

One of the most spectacular events in the natural world is taking place now in the African Serengeti—the awe-inspiring, seasonal wildebeest migration. In late spring through fall, up to 1.5 million wildebeest and thousands of zebra and Thomson’s gazelles embark on the long trek from the treeless plains of the southern Serengeti in Tanzania, north to the savannas and woodlands of Kenya.

Navigating Mara River rapids and dodging the hungry lions, cheetahs, and hyenas that trail the herd is no small feat, so what motivates these high plains drifters to travel so far in such massive numbers? Survival.

Like many migrating species, wildebeests are on a mission to find food. These bearded relatives of antelopes can weigh up to 600 muscle-packed pounds. Maintaining almost a billion pounds of wildebeest-i-ness across the herd requires a tremendous amount of grass and water. When the dry season begins in May and food and water are in short supply, wildebeests head west and north, following a route determined by rainfall, grass growth, and access to prime grazing real estate. In early winter, they complete the 300-mile migration loop, tracking the rain and grass back down to the southern plains. Every February, approximately 8,000 calves a day are born in transit and are up on their hooves toddling along with the herd in just three hours—the great migration and life cycle of the wildebeest continues uninterrupted.

The remarkable journey of these African ungulates has now inspired scientists to create algorithms that mimic the highly efficient swarm-like movement of the herd, which instinctually finds the shortest route to the greenest pastures. Intelligent algorithms based on these natural patterns of wildebeest herd migration could be used in cutting-edge applications ranging from unmanned vehicles and planetary mapping to nanobots that can target and destroy cancer cells—because nature is the most intelligent system of all.

Wherever you are in the world, you can keep tabs on the amazing traveling wildebeests courtesy of HerdTracker. Compared to the congestion of mega-migration, this summer’s bumper-to-bumper beach-bound traffic doesn’t seem so bad after all…

If you’d like to learn more about the megafauna of the Serengeti, we highly recommend Animals of the Masai Mara (Wildlife Explorer Guides), by Adam Scott Kennedy and Vicki Kennedy.

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Lisa S. French July 30, 2021

Fireflies That Blink in Sync | New Tree Equity Scores

1-minute read

From A Place Made for We, Favorite World Press

Then each tiny firefly
said hi-hello to the night,
blinking and flashing
its very own tiny light.

Witnessing the luminous dance of blinking, flashing fireflies is one of the quiet delights of summer. Their seasonal light show is so utterly soul-soothing, it’s easy to imagine that they blink for our benefit. We know that these mesmerizing glow dispensers use flashes of light for bug-to-bug communication, but why do some species of male fireflies in large swarms coordinate their flashing and blink in sync?

According to a recent study, it appears that flashing in unison is the bioluminescent language of cooperative courtship. Male fireflies communicate using distinct flash patterns while flying, and females signal back from the ground “message received”. In large swarms of hundreds or thousands of male fireflies, random blinking and flashing could make it overwhelming for lady bugs to visually track and communicate with a specific light pilot. Scientists from the University of Connecticut believe that when groups of male Photinus carolinus fireflies blink in sync, it gives female fireflies a flash-free window to signal their interest and selectively respond to the bug of their choosing. Yes, it’s good to glow—and for some species of fireflies, when it comes to courtship, it’s better to glow together and give a girl some uninterrupted time to blink back.

Got enough trees?

Back in April, we promised to give you an update on United States tree equity scores, and here it is. The new Tree Equity Score tool developed by our partner @AmericanForests gives scores for all 486 urbanized areas of the U.S. and their 150,000 neighborhoods. Each score is an indicator of how close the city is to achieving Tree Equity—ensuring that all, not just some, people can experience the many health, economic, and climate benefits that trees provide. A zero-to-100-point system makes it easy to understand how a community fares. With the knowledge the score provides, community leaders, tree advocates, and concerned citizens can address climate change and public health through the lens of social equity. Visit TreeEquityScore.org to see how your neighborhood stacks up.

We leave you with a gentle reminder that for every print or e-book that you purchase from the FWP series, Frankie and Peaches: Tales of Total Kindness, we’ll plant one wildlands tree in a place where it’s needed most to help cool, clean, and green our home planet. Thanks for reading with us!

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Lisa S. French July 21, 2021

Bird’s Eye Compass

1-minute read

Oh, the places they’ll go…

Every spring and autumn, one in five birds travel the byways and flyways of our planet between northern breeding grounds and southern winter sanctuaries. Some species migrate astonishing distances nonstop—no layovers, no in-flight movies—like the bar-tailed godwit, which flies 7,000 miles between Alaska and New Zealand, in just seven days.

So how do nature’s long-distance frequent fliers choose the best possible migration route and stay on course to reach their destination? Send over the video if we’re wrong, but we’re pretty sure that no one has ever seen a bird consulting a sat-nav app with an intensely focused look on its feathered little face. Through evolutionary adaptation, avian navigators have developed a special retinal flight guidance mechanism that helps them to perceive altitude and direction. To locate where they need to go to survive takes no more effort than the blink of an eye.

According to new research in Nature, migratory songbirds like the European robin have photosensitive proteins in the retina of their eyes that get activated by light and function as a compass that follows directional information from the Earth’s magnetic field. The birds’ brains automatically interpret the magnetic signals that guide them north to food resources and safe nesting grounds in the spring and south to warmer habitats in the fall. Because she’s smart like that, Mother Nature has equipped our feathered friends with precisely what they need to successfully manage life-sustaining comings and goings.

FYI – U.S. Bird Health Bulletin: Songbirds in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states are currently facing an unknown disease epidemic. Until wildlife researchers can determine the origins, the Audubon Society has up-to-date information and precautionary recommendations to prevent the spread of disease on your patch, how to report sightings and symptoms, and how to handle stricken birds. The pathogen is most common in young Blue Jays, European Starlings, Common Grackles, and American robins, so keep your eyes peeled out there for birds with vision problems, eye swelling, and neurological symptoms.

On a cheerier note, if at long last you’re planning on hitting the flyways and highways to do a bit of roaming of your own this year, whether you’re an old-school map-o-philiac or a sat-nav nomad, wishing you safe and very happy travels.

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Lisa S. French July 14, 2021