KarunaNews Story

Scientists studying migrations, endangered species, and global change are placing tracking devices on thousands of animals that will be monitored by a satellite-based system set to launch next year. If successful, the project could help illuminate the planet’s nonhuman worlds. This project, named ICARUS, is the brainchild of Martin Wikelski, a field biologist from Germany; it’s been more than 20 years in the making. After facing setback after setback, Wikelski seems poised to accomplish his goal of collecting information by tracking animals that helps humans tune into the planet’s hidden phenomena. The inexpensive, globe-spanning system is meant to help scientists understand the precise drivers of global change, and much more, by tracking thousands of tagged animals from space and tying their experiences to the broader impacts facing whole populations or even species.