The Great Animal Journeys: Migration Across Land, Sea and Sky: 3

Every year, animals set out on journeys that seem almost impossible. Birds cross oceans beneath the stars. Whales travel between distant feeding and breeding grounds. Salmon leave the open sea and fight their way back into rivers. Sea turtles navigate across entire ocean basins, while butterflies continue migrations that no single generation lives long enough to complete. Across plains and tundra, enormous herds follow rain, fresh grass and melting snow. How do these travellers know when to leave? How can they find destinations thousands of kilometres away without maps or road signs? What allows them to fly for days, swim through changing currents or remember routes followed years earlier? The Great Animal Journeys explores the extraordinary science of migration across land, sea and sky. Readers will discover how animals use the Sun, stars, smells, landmarks and Earth's magnetic field; how they prepare their bodies for demanding journeys; and how scientists follow movements that were once almost completely hidden. The book also reveals the dangers migrants encounter, from storms, predators and empty fuel reserves to roads, dams, artificial lights, fishing gear and disappearing stopovers. Above all, it shows why protecting a migratory animal means safeguarding every important part of its route.