The Internet of Animals

Martin Wikelski: It is an invisible network that connects animals worldwide through digital technologies and enables us to observe and understand their movements and behavior from a distance. 

As utopian as the book’s concept may sound—that the representatives of all the major animals convene an assembly to help tackle the world’s problems—it describes our goal very well. We aim to use modern technology to make an online parliamentary assembly of animals from all over the world possible. Our global system ICARUS lets us observe animals’ behavior and listen to them almost in real time. The “Internet of Animals” is still in its infancy, but in the long term we want to tap into the collective knowledge that animals have acquired in the course of their evolution—it gives us insight into the ancient wisdom of nature. 

NASA thought so too at first and was skeptical about our project. It took quite a bit of convincing. But thanks to our engineers, we’ve since been able to launch ICARUS into space with our own cube satellites. 

The radio waves from their transmitters give the animals a voice. Around the world, 1,400 animal species equipped with mini transmitters feed data into a global database via satellites or terrestrial radio networks. Our team can observe 200 animal species and “eavesdrop” on 25,000 animals every day. We can observe how land birds manage to cross thousands of kilometers of ocean or how elephants may be able to predict tsunamis through their movement patterns, for example. Creating connections between domestic and wild animals provides us with emergent new information—we are tapping into the animals’ sixth sense.  

All of our animals are equipped with “wearables for wildlife.” Blackbirds wear something like a fitness tracker, kind of  like little underpants, while other animals have mini transmitters on their backs. Besides data on their location and movement, these devices also collect information about an animal’s physical condition, such as their body temperature, their pulse, or their blood sugar and oxygen levels. Mini cameras and microphones reveal further details. The tags have to be attached in ways that don’t disturb the animals’ natural behavior. We even put transmitters on dragonflies and bees, which is tricky because they have to be very small and very light. 

Animals are the Earth’s best observers, since their lives depend on predicting what will happen next. We have whole fleets of satellites observing the planet, but on Earth we still use guard and sniffer dogs because they are very effective. Animals also communicate with each other: If we get the same stress signal from zebras, giraffes, lions, impalas, and rhinos in a certain area of the African savannah, for example, we can assume that something is happening in their immediate vicinity. Often it’s a poacher out to shoot a rhino. We can essentially understand what the animals are telling us, can react and send a ranger out to them. Animals protect each other. 

... the data can also warn us when animals living in close proximity to humans or livestock develop certain diseases. This could help prevent future pandemics. Basically a global contagion warning system fed with data from tens of thousands of individual animals—that’s the future. 

... because animals are more sensitive than man-made weather buoys. In 2004, an unbelievable 300,000 people died in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, as a result of a tsunami. On the nearby island of Simeuluë, however, children learn as early as kindergarten that when the water buffaloes start going crazy and the chickens start flying around, they have to drop everything and flee to the highlands. Only seven people died on that island. 

Birds could detect locust swarms crawling out of a seemingly dead desert floor. An early warning system  like that could help us to take appropriate action. When vultures die next to the carcass of a rhinoceros that has been poisoned by poachers, it alerts us to a threat for hundreds of other members of the species. Pigeons could detect traces of gas in cities, birds could improve the accuracy of local weather forecasts by measuring wind speed and turbulence. 

In 2016, there was an earthquake in central Italy. The next day, I drove to the area with a trunk full of transmitters to equip animals with our tags and use the aftershocks to test their early warning system. The Angeli family was interested and we were allowed to tag Berta, the most sensitive cow in the herd, along with other animals on their farm. Several days later there were further tremors and a new series of earthquakes began. The family reported that the animals had warned them in advance, which our data then confirmed. Hours before the main earthquake, terror and chaos broke out on the farm, the cows froze, which in turn caused extreme anxiety among the dogs. 

For almost an hour, the activity level among all of the animals increased by around fifty percent. Of course, this was just one farm, so it wasn’t an entirely conclusive scientific study, but the animals had shown massive restlessness before seven of the eight aftershocks. With the next generation of ICARUS trackers, with our “MoveApps” system, an automatic data analysis tool, it will be possible in the future for animals to notify anyone digitally in the event of imminent danger. 

Of course it’s important to remember that animals might also behave abnormally for other reasons. It will still take a lot of research and time, but with every chirp from a bird we understand the animals a little bit better. 

We pay fees of  about 15,000 euros per quarter for our storks alone. Each animal basically has its own passport, roaming contract, and a Dropbox account where its life story is written down. There’s Hansi the stork, for example, who didn’t fly south for the winter and let a Bavarian family spoil him with minced liver and foot baths instead. He’s a good example of animals being more inventive than we could ever have imagined. 

Growing up on a farm, I learned how to relate to animals from my grandfather. I quickly realized that insults like “stupid cow” are factually wrong—they’re actually very clever. 

The year is 2055, my granddaughters are watching TV, the news is followed by “Life Live“ — the global weather forecast from the animal perspective. A report might go something like this: “White storks have once again discovered a swarm of desert locusts in southwest Chad. Himalayan vultures warn of an approaching storm, Mount Everest expeditions are advised to remain at their base camp.” 

... a scientist’s work is never done. One of our current projects is trying to protect songbirds. The number of birds has declined by 30 percent over the past twenty years. The ICARUS team plans to observe 5,000 blackbirds and thrushes to find out how they manage to travel thousands of kilometers, where they live, and how they die. How do migratory birds cope with environmental challenges, how quickly do they react to climate change and urbanization? 

I know the Christian stories of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. He regarded them as his brothers, equal to humans, and is even said to have spoken to them: “My brother birds!” I am a scientist, of course we can’t talk to the animals, but we can listen to them and give them a voice. 

Animals still see us as intruders who want to take over their territory. If we would truly listen to animals, we might be able to abandon the culturally ingrained belief that God has placed us above all other life forms as creation’s crowning glory. Our fate is linked to that of the animals all over the world. We are very close to being able to communicate with animals, and their messages could change our path into the future.  

I would love to be a Himalayan vulture in Bhutan, then I could ride the updraft to 8,500 meters, take in the view over Mount Everest. Interestingly, Himalayan vultures aren’t averse to human flesh, even if that isn’t why I chose them (laughs). 

I wouldn’t want to miss being human, even if I sometimes wish I could be as free as a bird ...