The enviable characteristics of animals

We pride ourselves on being the most intelligent of animals, the ones who dominate from the sky to the depths of the sea. This claim is not false, but it omits an essential aspect: the other creatures of the fauna have helped us to develop technologies to outdo everything else. From ultrasound to thermal vision, it is the study of animals that has enabled us to understand these perceptions that were unknown to us.

In December 2005, a powerful earthquake in the Indian Ocean created a devastating tsunami that killed more than 250,000 people in various countries of Southeast Asia. Yet, on a small island in Indonesia, the 80,000 islanders had all packed up their belongings long before the wave hit and taken refuge in the hills. How did they know what no one else had foreseen? They would have followed the animals as they took shelter on their own. An animal sixth sense? It seems that species ranging from snakes to cows are partly capable of sensing the onset of disaster. So far, however, predicting earthquakes by wildlife alone has proved rather disappointing. After all, a host of factors come into play in this prediction.

Nevertheless, more and more scientists are using animals as research aids to better understand the state of ecosystems. By fitting them with state-of-the-art trackers, researchers are able to follow different species both in the air and on the seabed. In this way, they can obtain a wide range of information enabling them to understand what is happening on this planet undergoing major climate change.

For example, they have noted that cheetahs have places where they gather, like bistros on the savannah. However, most herders were taking their calf populations to these hot spots, leading to the death of many of them and, in retaliation, the slaughter of many of the felines threatened with extinction. This better-understood reality has reduced the death toll on both sides.

Running time: 29min22