
Whether a Swallow Is Frightened in a Storm - Hooke
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-we-know-whether-a-swallow-is-frightened-in-a-storm-excerpt/
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mambodog
This bit got my imagination going (even if the true explanation is likely
something mundane):

 _Another, somewhat spooky example of a tagged shark demonstrates the chasms
GPS technology will reveal to us in time. Off the coast of Australia, a ten-
foot-long, tagged female great white shark that went by the name “Shark
Alpha,” disappeared from the radar. According to the tracking device, at four
o’clock in the morning, the shark was suddenly torn five hundred yards into
the depths, with astonishing power and speed. Within seconds, the chip also
recorded a spike in ambient temperature, from 8 degrees Celsius to 25. That is
the temperature of an animal’s insides; the shark must have been eaten by an
aquatic predator. The chip could be followed for the next eight days, at which
point it vanished from the control monitor. It was most likely voided. Four
months later, it was found on shore, bleached by gastric acid. Researchers
suspect Shark Alpha fell prey to a much larger creature. It will have to have
been at least five meters long and weighed two tons or more. But what was it?
An orca? Orcas usually hunt close to the surface. The deepest killer whale
dive on record is 260 yards. Another great white? This species has a body
temperature of 18 degrees—not 25. Could it actually have been a monstrous
octopod or a megalodon, a gargantuan prehistoric predator that some say may
has survived, hidden in the darkest depths of the ocean?_

~~~
_match
Def a compelling mystery. Turns out to likely be a larger Great White:
[http://sploid.gizmodo.com/mystery-solved-heres-the-animal-
th...](http://sploid.gizmodo.com/mystery-solved-heres-the-animal-that-ate-
the-9-foot-gr-1587429691).

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misnome
Annoyingly, the title is actually "Why We Know Whether a Swallow Is Frightened
in a Storm [Excerpt]" \- key being, why/how we know, and not actually
answering the question posed or not. In fact "Swallow", "Frightened" and
"Storm" only ever occur in the title.

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fifaweq
Only halfway through the extremely long-winded introduction did I realize that
the article was about a much more boring topic than the title led me to
believe.

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_match
I think it's a more interesting topic. Another article on animal emotions
would be inconclusive. But this represents real progress in ecology and
environmental protection. A GPS sensor that fits on the back of a bee is
incredible.

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dmourati
What do you mean? An African or European swallow?

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x5n1
Seems sort of sad to me how we want to encroach on everything, we can't let
even the animals be free, we must surveil and control them too for their own
good.

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JoBrad
I feel like you put some pre-concieved notion on both the topic and animals.
The article talks about tracking animals so we can better provide protection
for them and their habitats (which will also provide loads of benefit to
humans, as well, as we learn more about them).

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x5n1
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestell)

