{ "item_title" : "The Internet of Animals", "item_author" : [" Martin Wikelski", "Keith Gaddis "], "item_description" : "An illuminating account of animal migration and the stunning new science that reveals their infinite, untapped knowledge. A loving ode to science itself, told with wit and wonder.--Thor Hanson, author of Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid What do animals know that we don't? How do elephants detect tsunamis before they happen? How do birds predict hurricanes? In The Internet of Animals, renowned scientist Martin Wikelski convincingly argues that animals possess a unique sixth sense that humans are only beginning to grasp ... All we need to do is give animals a voice and our perception of the world could change forever. That's what author Martin Wikelski and his team of scientists believe, and this book shares their story for the first time. As they tag animals around the world with minuscule tracking devices, they link their movements to The International Space Station, which taps into the 'internet of animals' an astonishing network of information made up of thousands of animals communicating with each other and their environments. Called the International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space, or ICARUS, this phenomenal project is poised to change our world. Down on the ground, Wikelski describes animals' sixth sense first-hand. Farm animals become restless when earthquakes are imminent. Animals on the African plains sense when poachers are on the move. Frigatebirds in South America depart before hurricanes arrive ... As Wikelski shows, animal migratory rhythms are not triggered by genes encoded in their DNA, as previously thought, but by elaborate cultures that are long established. What does this mean for humans? It means that, by paying attention to animal cultures, we can learn more about our environments. We can better prepare for natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. Most of all, we can learn to live alongside animals in harmony for the betterment of our future, their future, and the future of the planet.", "item_img_path" : "https://covers4.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/1/77/164/959/1771649593_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "28.95", "online_price" : "28.95", "our_price" : "28.95", "club_price" : "28.95", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "" } }

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The Internet of Animals: Discovering the Collective Intelligence of Life on Earth is a bonkers, delightful read if you are interested in any of the following: space and satellites, animal migration and behavior, analog versus digital technology, and the many complications that come from following through on the whiff of a very good idea. 

Scientist Martin Wikelski had such an idea decades ago: Tag large numbers of animals and track them digitally via satellite. He envisioned a global community of animal researchers all pursuing projects using the same satellite and tracking technology, and making some portion of the reams of resulting data public. In a moment of either brilliance or dark insight into the troubles ahead, he dubbed the project ICARUS: International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space. From the beginning, this was a project that aimed to fly near the sun and see the world anew.

But like the mythic story of Icarus, there were unforeseen complications: identifying the technology needed to create a satellite, fine-tuning the technology needed to tag the animals effectively, and finding global collaborators. This story of scientific advancement is also, like so many others, tied up in cultural differences, funding, politicking and geopolitics. A project that Wikelski thought would take only a few years has taken decades, and it’s still unfolding. Still, his good idea remains as captivating as ever.

Wikelski probes the mysteries of the animal world and shares vivid anecdotes of field research, from unusually sociable rice rats in the Galapagos Islands, to a wandering egret who made friends with a family in Bavaria (when he was supposed to be migrating to a different continent). Wikelski situates these stories within the big questions about animals and how they live on Earth—what they know innately and what they could tell us, if they only had a way. He convincingly argues that these questions should animate us all, and his vision of creating a way for animals to communicate what they are remains a vital, galvanizing example of how human ingenuity and persistence can make a difference in how we understand the world around us.