Animals’ Top Senses: Seal’s Navigational Skills to Return to Their Birth Place
Some seals can trace and go back to where they were born even after years of spending their lives on the ocean, says the British Antarctic Survey Team.
After using radio tags on 335 seals, the team found out that seals go back to their birth place to give birth to their own pups. The amazing homing instinct of Antarctic fur seals makes it possible for these sea mammals to go back and find their homes.
Seals spend five years roaming in different beaches and oceans before they start their long journey to go home. Scientists believe that seals have their inner compass which makes it possible for them to have a natural navigational skill.
Seals’ natural skill is even believed to be more accurate than man-made Global Positioning Systems or GPS which can pinpoint a location up to 15 feet compared to seals’ 6 feet accuracy.
Other Animals with Natural Navigation Skills
Aside from seals, it was also discovered that humpback whales have the same abilities. New Zealand researchers found out that humpback whales have natural navigational skills when they tracked the whales with radio tags.
After tracking, the researchers found out that the humpback whales are migrating from Brazil (Atlantic Ocean) to New Caledona (Pacific Ocean). The distance is believed to be far enough to go back to their homes. But the humpback whales were able to swim around and go back to where they came from.
On the other hand, other sea animals like tiger sharks and thresher sharks were found to have good navigational skills because of Earth’s magnetic field. Earlier studies have proven that magnetic field serves as guide for these sharks to orient themselves and to travel to a far target destination.
Talking about navigation, Pigeons can be considered to be the most accurate when it comes to directions. In fact, they are known to be great carriers of messages and news during the earlier decades. They are considered to be rats with wings because they can easily zoom around obstacles and find their way to their destinations without ease.