“It makes me feel like I’m 30 years old again”: NASA’s oldest astronaut Don Pettit celebrates his 70th birthday with a rejuvenated return | – The Times of India
At 70, most individuals are gearing up for retirement, looking back on their professional lives, or easing up from the physical strains of daily life. But not Don Pettit. As NASA‘s oldest full-time astronaut, Pettit spent his seventh decade floating in space, finishing a gruelling seven-month stint on the International Space Station (ISS). His return to Earth on April 20, 2025, not only marked the end of his 220-day mission but also coincided with his milestone birthday—a day he spent plummeting back through the atmosphere in a cramped Russian Soyuz capsule. In his first public appearance after coming back to Earth, Pettit provided a frank and scientifically interesting commentary on his experience. Talking from NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, he explained how weightlessness in space temporarily erased the physical aches of ageing. Instead of being debilitated by age, he found the experience rejuvenating, like travelling back in time to his thirties.
NASA astronaut Don Pettit talks about feeling young again in the weightlessness of space
Rather than celebrating his 70th birthday with cake and candles, Pettit celebrated in a Russian spacecraft strapped to his body, weathering the fierce re-entry to Earth’s surface. His touchdown on the Kazakh steppe was both a triumph and one of physical endurance. Despite his successful mission, Pettit wasn’t feeling great upon re-entry. After over seven months in microgravity, his body found it difficult to adapt to Earth’s gravitational force. He confessed at the briefing that he vomited upon landing shortly after—which happens to all astronauts coming back from long-duration missions. He termed the feeling of the return of gravity as abrupt and jerky, which he compared to taking a wave of discomfort. The human body, having spent months suspended in zero gravity, starts relearning to balance, stabilize, and manage blood pressure normally. Pettit remembered that the stiffness, pains, and body “creaks and groans” he was accustomed to on Earth had come back almost immediately—a reminder of how quickly gravity gets reestablished on an older body. In spite of the rough landing, Pettit highlighted how much more different his body felt while in orbit. While on the ISS, he went through what he referred to as a physical renaissance. In space, where there was no constant downward force of gravity, Pettit found relief from the chronic pain and stiffness that typically come with aging. He spoke of the feeling of floating—not as a physical condition but as a healing one. The absence of pressure on joints, the reduction in strain on muscles, and the uninterrupted rest offered by sleeping in microgravity combined to create what felt like a reversal of age. “It makes me feel like I’m 30 years old again,” Pettit said with evident amazement. The sensation, he said, wasn’t transient; it lasted throughout the mission, fueled by the zero-gravity setting and the rhythmic nature of life on the space station.
NASA astronaut proves age is no barrier to spaceflight
Pettit’s latest flight makes him a member of a select class of older space flyers, but his assignment makes him unique. John Glenn orbited again at age 77 in 1998, the oldest astronaut to this point. Glenn, however, had retired from NASA many years earlier and was essentially a ceremonial passenger on a nine-day shuttle flight. Conversely, Pettit was an entirely active crew member, performing experiments, keeping the station running, and participating in scientific research during his 220-day mission. Others who’ve flown to space at an old age flew on significantly shorter suborbital trips—like the 90-year-olds who traveled on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin flights. These short-duration trips, no longer than a little over 10 minutes, provided fleeting glimpses of weightlessness but not the long-term physiological adaptation necessary for a journey to the ISS. Pettit’s achievement is remarkable not only due to his age, but due to the challenging nature of his job. His capacity to conduct sophisticated scientific work, stay physically active, and preserve psychological equilibrium over such a long mission redefines the limits of capability for older space travelers.
Pettit’s experiments and photography redefine space science
Even with almost three decades as an astronaut, Pettit’s passion for science never lessened. On his mission, he devoted much of his off-duty time to innovative scientific discovery. He performed a range of unofficial experiments intended to illustrate the behavior of common substances in microgravity—experiments that had nothing to do with his official responsibilities but were meant to educate and inspire. One of his hobbies was making visual demonstrations of fluid dynamics in space. He tried floating bubbles, piling them up in mid-air, and even created a perfectly spherical honey ball balanced on a spoonful of peanut butter. These playful experiments were not only fun—they provided simple yet compelling insights into the behavior of matter in zero gravity. Along with hands-on science, Pettit gave a lot of energy to astrophotography. With cameras on the ISS, he took stunning photos of Earth’s auroras, comets blazing across the universe, and satellites glinting with the sun’s light as they flew overhead. His photos not only recorded his mission but also bridged science and art, making it easier for the public to relate to the magic of space.
Pettit defies age, eyes future space missions despite physical toll
Despite his years—and the cost of space travel to his body—Pettit has no intention of retiring. In fact, he has said he wanted to fly into orbit again, saying, “I’ve got a few good years left. I could see getting another couple of flights in before I’m ready to hang up my rocket nozzles.” This is more than wishful thinking. Pettit’s mission performance and post-flight health prove that age, coupled with training, experience, and good health, need not be a hindrance to meaningful contributions in space. His stamina and ongoing curiosity are testament to the changing picture of human potential in extreme environments.
Pettit’s success challenges age limits in space and science
Pettit’s mission provides more than a personal triumph—it raises bigger questions about whether space travel could teach us something about aging. The peculiar physiological benefits of space, ranging from relief in the joints to mental clarity, provide potential lessons for medical treatments and aging research on Earth. Researchers are looking more and more at how the body’s acclimation to space could lead to new therapies for age-related diseases like osteoporosis, muscle wasting, and even neurodegeneration. Furthermore, Pettit’s accomplishment is about the evolving culture of human spaceflight itself. With missions to the Moon and Mars becoming increasingly plausible, and private spaceflight increasing access for broader populations, what it means to be an astronaut is being rewritten. Pettit’s achievement is an indicator that space agencies might increasingly begin to look past age as a boundary, considering instead physical suitability, experience, and mental toughness. Also Read | ISRO and NASA’s NISAR mission set to launch in June after years of preparation
Snipers in helicopters have shot more than 700 koalas in the Budj Bim National Park in western Victoria in recent weeks. It’s believed to be the first time koalas have been culled in this way.
The cull became public on Good Friday after local wildlife carers were reportedly tipped off.
A fire burned about 20% of the park in mid-March. The government said the cull was urgent because koalas had been left starving or burned.
Wildlife groups have expressed serious concern about how individual koalas had been chosen for culling, because the animals are assessed from a distance. It’s not clear how shooting from a helicopter complies with the state government’s own animal welfare and response plans for wildlife in disasters.
The Victorian government must explain why it is undertaking aerial culling and why it did so without announcing it publicly. The incident points to ongoing failures in managing these iconic marsupials, which are already threatened in other states.
Why did this happen?
Koalas live in eucalypt forests in Australia’s eastern and southern states. The species faces a double threat from habitat destruction and bushfire risk. They are considered endangered in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.
In Victoria, koala population levels are currently secure. But they are densely concentrated, often in fragments of bush known as “habitat islands” in the state’s southwest. Budj Bim National Park is one of these islands.
Over time, this concentration becomes a problem. When the koalas are too abundant, they can strip leaves from their favourite gums, killing the trees. The koalas must then move or risk starvation.
If fire or drought make these habitat islands impossible to live in, koalas in dense concentrations often have nowhere to go.
In Budj Bim, Victoria’s Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action and Parks Victoria have tackled koala overpopulation alongside Traditional Owners by moving koalas to new locations or sterilising them.
But Budj Bim is also surrounded by commercial blue gum plantations. Koalas spread out through the plantations to graze on the leaves. Their populations grow. But when the plantations are logged, some koalas have to return to the national park, where food may be in short supply.
Animal welfare groups say logging is one reason Budj Bim had so many koalas.
It’s hard to say definitively whether this is the case, because the state environment department hasn’t shared much information. But researchers have found habitat islands lead to overabundance by preventing the natural dispersal of individuals.
So why was the culling done? Department officials have described the program as “primarily” motivated by animal welfare. After the bushfire last month, koalas have been left starving or injured.
Why shooters in helicopters? Here, the justification given is that the national park is difficult to access due to rocky terrain and fire damage, ruling out other methods.
Euthanising wildlife
Under Victoria’s plan for animal welfare during disasters, the environment department is responsible for examining and, where necessary, euthanising wildlife during an emergency.
For human intervention to be justified, euthanasia must be necessary on welfare grounds. Victoria’s response plan for fire-affected wildlife says culling is permitted when an animal’s health is “significantly” compromised, invasive treatment is required, or survival is unlikely.
For koalas, this could mean loss of digits or hands, burns to more than 15% of the body, pneumonia from smoke inhalation, or blindness or injuries requiring surgery. Euthanised females must also be promptly examined for young in their pouches.
The problem is that while aerial shooting can be accurate in some cases for larger animals, the method has questionable efficacy for smaller animals – especially in denser habitats.
It’s likely a number of koalas were seriously injured but not killed. But the shooters employed by the department were not able to thoroughly verify injuries or whether there were joeys in pouches, because they were in the air and reportedly 30 or more metres away from their targets.
While the department cited concerns about food resources as a reason for the cull, the state’s wildlife fire plan lays out another option: delivery of supplementary feed. Delivering fresh gum leaves could potentially have prevented starvation while the forest regenerates.
Lessons for the government
The state government should take steps to avoid tragic incidents like this from happening again.
Preserving remaining habitat across the state is a vital step, as is reconnecting isolated areas with habitat corridors. This would not only reduce the concentration of koalas in small pockets but increase viable refuges and give koalas safe paths to new food sources after a fire.
Future policies should be developed in consultation with Traditional Owners, who have detailed knowledge of species distributions and landscapes.
We need better ways to help wildlife in disasters. One step would be bringing wildlife rescue organisations into emergency management more broadly, as emphasised in the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission and the more recent Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.
This latter report pointed to South Australia’s specialised emergency animal rescue and relief organisation – SAVEM – as an effective model. Under SA’s emergency management plan, the organisation is able to rapidly access burned areas after the fire has passed through.
Victoria’s dense communities of koalas would be well served by a similar organisation able to work alongside existing skilled firefighting services.
The goal would be to make it possible for rescuers to get to injured wildlife earlier and avoid any more mass aerial culls.
Liz Hicks is Lecturer in Law, University of Melbourne. Ashleigh Best is Barrister, Victorian Bar and Honorary Fellow, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. This article is republished from The Conversation.
Investing in a budget water purifier offers numerous benefits, primarily by significantly improving the quality of your drinking water. Even seemingly clean tap water can harbour harmful contaminants like bacteria, viruses, heavy metals, and chlorine, which a purifier effectively reduces, leading to better health by preventing waterborne illnesses and long-term health issues.
Top Budget Water Purifiers of 2025: High Filtration Power for Every Water Type – Pure Water, Smart Savings.
Beyond health, a purifier enhances the taste and odour of water by removing treatment chemicals, making it more appealing to drink. While there’s an initial cost, it proves cost-effective in the long run compared to consistently purchasing bottled water, offering greater convenience.
Looking to make the switch? Check out the best budget water purifiers in 2025 here to get access to clean water throughout the day.
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Access to safe drinking water should not be a luxury, and the Aquatec Plus purifier ensures it remains a necessity for every household. Specially engineered for Indian homes with high Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), this purifier efficiently treats water with TDS levels of up to 2500 ppm. It features a comprehensive purification process, including RO, UV, UF, and a taste-enhancing filter, delivering water that is not only safe but also palatable. With no unpleasant aftertaste and reliable filtration, it offers a cost-effective solution for clean and healthy hydration.
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If you’re looking for the best budget water purifier that tackles daily water concerns without fuss, this one delivers where it matters. Its triple-layered purification means your family drinks water free from dust, germs, and microplastics. The in-tank UV keeps water fresh even during long power cuts. You don’t need to double-check the water source, this purifier adjusts to all. It’s practical, reliable, and fits into your routine like it’s always been there.
What are buyers saying on Amazon?
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You should choose this product because it gives consistent purification across water sources, making it a smart everyday investment.
This best budget water purifier offers more than basic purification. It’s built for households that care about both safety and nutrition. Every drop is filtered through RO, then treated with UV to remove bacteria. The copper infusion adds essential minerals, while the TDS adjuster ensures the water tastes just right. It’s not just about removing impurities; it’s about delivering water that supports everyday immunity and wellness without making you spend a fortune.
What are buyers saying on Amazon?
Buyers find the purifier easy to install, stylish, and great for municipal water, offering good taste, performance, and value for money.
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You should choose this product because it provides safe, mineral-rich water with long-term health benefits at an affordable price.
The Pureit Marina Prime is a reliable, feature-packed purifier designed to suit all water sources, be it borewell, tanker, or tap. It comes with 6-stage purification and a Mineral Enhancer Cartridge that adds essential minerals like calcium and magnesium for healthier, tastier water. Its Smartsense technology alerts you before filter expiry and stops dispensing unsafe water. With up to 45% water savings, this purifier is ideal for eco-conscious families.
What are buyers saying on Amazon?
Buyers appreciate the purifier’s quality, professional installation, appealing design, great taste, efficient performance, low water wastage, and overall value for money.
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Choose it for peace of mind with Smartsense tech, mineral-rich hydration, and savings on water, perfect for modern, health-focused households.
The Kinsco Aqua Punch Pro Max is one of the best budget water purifiers in 2025 for homes, offering a combination of advanced filtration and added health benefits. With multiple purification stages like RO, UV, UF, and TDS adjuster, it ensures clean, safe water by removing large particles, bacteria, viruses, and dissolved impurities. The copper and alkaline elements help maintain a healthy pH level and promote immunity, while the UV lamp kills bacteria and viruses, making it an excellent choice for families looking for both safety and affordability.
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Buyers praise the purifier’s quality, design, taste, and silent operation, but report mixed functionality and installation support experiences.
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The Pureit Marina Plus is a reliable choice for families seeking safe and clean drinking water without compromise. With 6-stage purification, it ensures effective removal of impurities from all types of water like borewell, tanker, or municipal. Its UV sterilisation kills up to 99.9% of bacteria and viruses, while the mineral enhancer cartridge adds essential minerals like calcium and magnesium. With a 7-litre storage capacity, your family can enjoy continuous access to purified water without any hassle.
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Buyers appreciate the purifier’s quality, sleek design, and effective impurity removal, but report mixed functionality and occasional performance issues.
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The Aqua Libra RO+UV+UF+TDS Control Water Purifier provides a reliable solution for clean, safe drinking water. It uses a multi-stage purification process to eliminate dissolved impurities like arsenic, rust, and pesticides, while UV sterilisation ensures 99.9% bacteria and virus-free water. The TDS control system lets you adjust water hardness, ensuring essential minerals remain intact. With a 9-litre capacity, it serves medium to large households efficiently. Its wall-mountable design saves space, making it a practical addition to your kitchen.
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The Kinsco Aqua Moon 15 Litre Tank RO + UV + UF + TDS Adjuster Copper Water Purifier is designed for those seeking safe and clean drinking water. Equipped with RO, UV, UF filtration, and TDS adjuster, this purifier removes 99.9% of bacteria, viruses, and impurities. The added copper filter provides essential minerals, improving the quality of water. With a 15-litre capacity, it caters to medium-sized households. Its countertop installation and rechargeable feature make it a convenient and versatile choice for your kitchen.
What are buyers saying on Amazon?
Buyers praise the purifier’s quality, taste, and easy installation, but report mixed noise levels and occasional water leakage issues.
Why choose this product?
Choose this purifier for its combination of advanced filtration and copper infusion, ensuring you get purified, mineral-enriched water for you and your family.
Which type of water purifier is best for my home?
The right type depends on your water source. If you get hard water with high TDS (Total Dissolved Solids), an RO (Reverse Osmosis) purifier is ideal. For soft or municipal water with microbial contaminants, UV or UF purifiers work well. Many modern purifiers combine RO+UV+UF technologies to handle multiple impurities. It’s best to test your water quality first and then pick a purifier suited for that specific need. Choose a model with a TDS controller or mineraliser for better taste and essential minerals retention.
How often do I need to change the filters of my budget water purifier?
Filter change frequency depends on the purifier type and water quality. Typically, RO filters need replacement every 6 to 12 months, while UV lamps and sediment/carbon filters may last up to a year. If your water has more impurities, filters may clog sooner. Some purifiers come with filter change alerts for timely replacements. Regular maintenance is crucial to ensure purification performance and prevent harmful buildup. Always follow the brand’s guidelines and schedule a service check periodically to keep your purifier running efficiently.
Is a budget water purifier reliable and safe?
Yes, many budget water purifiers offer reliable performance, especially from reputable brands. They use essential filtration technologies like RO, UV, or UF and meet safety standards. While they might not have advanced features like app connectivity or digital displays, they do the core job, purifying water, effectively. It’s important to check for certifications like ISI or NSF and look at customer reviews. Also, ensure the purifier suits your water type. Budget models are a great entry point for households seeking clean drinking water without spending a fortune.
Factors to consider before buying the best budget water purifier in 2025
Water quality / TDS level: Test your water source for TDS and contaminants. If TDS is above 300 ppm, go for an RO purifier. For low TDS water, a UV or UF purifier is sufficient.
Purification technology: Choose the right technology—RO for dissolved salts, UV for killing germs, and UF for removing suspended particles. Many budget purifiers now offer a combination of these.
Storage capacity: Consider your daily water usage and pick a purifier with adequate storage (e.g., 7–10 litres) to avoid frequent refills, especially in power-cut-prone areas.
Filter replacement & maintenance cost: Budget purifiers may have low upfront costs, but filters need periodic replacement. Check annual maintenance costs and the availability of spare parts.
Brand reliability & service support: Opt for a trusted brand that offers good after-sales service, warranty, and easily available customer support, even for budget models.
Certifications & safety features: Look for purifiers with certifications like ISI, NSF, or WQA to ensure they meet safety standards. Also, check for features like filter change alerts or auto shut-off.
Top 3 features of the best budget water purifiers in 2025
Best budget water purifiers in 2025
Capacity
Purification method
Material
AQUA D PURE 4 in 1 Copper RO Water Purifier
12 Litres
RO, UV, UF, TDS Adjuster, 10 Stage Filtration
Copper, Plastic
Epic 15L RO+UV+UF+TDS Water Purifier for Home
15 Litres
RO, UV, UF, TDS
Plastic
Isi Mark Black Color Water Purifier With RO+Copper+UV Plus TDS Adjuster for Home (Model 2090)
10 Litres
RO, Copper, UV, TDS Adjuster
Copper, Plastic
Aquaguard Health Protect 3-in-1 RO+UV Water Purifier
7 Litres
RO, UV
Plastic, Stainless Steel
Isi Mark Black Color Water Purifier With RO+Copper+UV Plus TDS Adjuster for Home (Model 2090)
6 Litres
RO, Copper, UV, TDS Adjuster
Copper, Plastic
Pureit Marina Prime Mineral RO+MF Water Purifier
7 Litres
RO, MF (Mineral)
Plastic
Kinsco Aqua Punch Pro Max 21 L with ISI Mark RO+UV+UF+TDS Adjuster
21 Litres
RO, UV, UF, TDS Adjuster, ALK, Copper
Copper, Plastic
Pureit Marina Plus Mineral RO+UV Water Purifier
7 Litres
RO, UV, Mineral
Plastic
RO+UV+UF+TDS Control with Active Copper Premium Water Purifier
9 Litres
RO, UV, UF, TDS, Active Copper
Copper, Plastic
Kinsco Aqua Moon 15 Litre Tank RO + UV + UF + TDS Adjuster Copper Water Purifier Dispenser Machine
What is the best budget water purifier for high TDS water?
For high TDS water, choose an RO or RO+UV purifier. Look for models with TDS controllers or mineralisers for better taste and health.
Can I get a good water purifier under ₹10,000?
Absolutely. Several reputed brands offer efficient and certified water purifiers under ₹10,000 with essential features and decent storage.
How much does it cost to maintain a budget purifier?
Annual maintenance costs range from ₹2,000 – ₹4,000, depending on the model and water quality. RO purifiers generally cost more to maintain.
Do budget purifiers come with a warranty?
Yes, most budget purifiers include a 1-year warranty covering manufacturing defects. Some brands also offer extended warranty or AMC plans.
Is UV purification enough for city tap water?
If the TDS level is low and the water is municipally treated, a UV or UV+UF purifier is usually sufficient.
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In late 2019, a wave of billions of desert locusts flew into western India through Pakistan. Their journey had already spanned several thousand kilometers since they first erupted in the arid plains of East Africa.
Locusts are grasshoppers that, in the right conditions, multiply rapidly. They grow larger and change colour in response to their environment. In a process called gregarisation, they transition from solitary creatures to a swarm, congregating in large numbers and travelling together over several leagues at time.
Historically, these ‘outbreaks’ have led to widespread famine and economic devastation, earning them the name “locust plagues”.
The 2019-2022 outbreak was the worst to hit Kenya in 70 years and to hit Ethiopia, Somalia, and India in 25 years. More than 200,000 hectares of crops were destroyed.
At this time, researchers in German and North American universities saw an opportunity to study locust swarms and flew to Kenya, hoping to refine a long-standing theory about swarming behaviour.
Previous models of locust swarms have treated them like gases in motion. Specifically, they assumed individual locusts aligned with their neighbors like self-propelled particles — a model-object used in theoretical physics.
“Initially, we wanted to replicate what we thought we knew,” Iain Couzin, director of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and professor at the University of Konstanz, who has studied collective intelligence and locust behavior for over two decades, said. “But what we didn’t expect was to find that we could not replicate our previous findings, and that completely changed our understanding of how locusts form these massive swarms.”
In a recent paper, Couzin and his team proposed a revised model to make sense of swarms. According to this model, locusts don’t behave like gases. Instead, their movement is based on a cognitive decision-making process based on their perception of nearby motion.
The finding marks a major shift in how scientists understand locust behaviour and their ability to make swarm-related predictions. As climate change continues to alter locusts’ breeding patterns, this refined understanding may be the key to protecting crops, and livelihoods, before the next swarm arrives.
From field to holograms
Just before the spread of COVID-19 became a pandemic, some members of the research team (other than Couzin) conducted a study in Kenya’s Samburu and Isiolo counties. They examined large, ground-marching bands of young locusts using precise tracking methods, and noticed a pattern. The locusts weren’t explicitly aligning with their immediate neighbors, contrary to what the self-propelled particles model predicted.
To test their observations, they conducted sensory-deprivation experiments in which they altered the insects’ ability to see, smell or sense movement.
The results revealed that vision had a major influence in determining how locusts moved within a swarm. Locusts that couldn’t see clearly lost their sense of direction while those with intact vision moved with the swarm even without physical contact.
“Those data showed that olfaction wasn’t important, tactile cues weren’t important, but vision was really, really important,” Couzin said. “That justified the use of holographic virtual reality to study this phenomenon in more detail.”
The scientists placed locusts in a fully immersive virtual-reality environment and tested their response to different visual stimuli. In these experiments, the locusts interacted with computer-generated swarms that varied in density and movement order. Soon, their key finding emerged: coherence of motion rather than crowding controlled their alignment.
Even in sparsely populated swarms, the locusts moved together if their visual cues were strong.
The team realised locusts weren’t behaving like gas particles. Instead, their movement followed a decision-making process based on their perception of nearby motion.
To represent this, the researchers developed a new mathematical model based on a neural ring attractor network, a concept in neuroscience. Instead of treating locusts as mindless particles, the approach addressed them as decision-making entities that could integrate multiple visual inputs before choosing a direction.
The model suggested locusts may weigh different potential options and make effective decisions. “However, at the group level, there’s no planning at all,” Couzin added. “The group is an emergent phenomenon.”
An emergent phenomenon is a complex pattern arising from simple interactions, without central control. In locust swarms, collective movement emerges from each locust’s individual behavior, creating large, coordinated swarms without a leader. This is how flocks of birds and traffic jams work, too.
“This study established how swarms move and how coordinated motion arises,” Sercan Sayin, neurologist and molecular biologist at the University of Konstanz and one of the study’s authors, said. “The initial direction selection and how this is maintained — that’s the next question we would like to answer.”
‘Wrong way of thinking’
Understanding how locusts move has real-world consequences. Yet how these groups emerge or which exact factors determine the direction of their flight remains unclear.
Climate change has worsened the problem by increasing rainfall in desert regions, creating ideal breeding conditions. The 2019-2022 outbreak — one of the worst in decades — was fueled by unusually strong monsoons and cyclones in the Arabian Sea. Cyclones Mekunu and Luban had also struck the Arabian Peninsula in 2018. Unusual monsoons and delayed control worsened the crisis, creating a swarm.
“We thought we had a good understanding, and the old models were being used to try to make predictions, but that was the wrong way of thinking,” Couzin said. “Hopefully, now we’ve set the record straight and we can start building a team effort to make increasingly accurate predictions. One way to do that, of course, is to start tracking animals in the wild.”
“With the changing climate, the swarms are expected to become larger and more unpredictable, making management more difficult,” he added. “To really be able to make predictive models or understand this better, we need much more research. We also need to involve climate scientists and vegetation experts.”
Monika Mondal is a freelance science and environment journalist.
