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All-Star Animal Migrators

These creatures travel epic distances as the seasons change

What if your summer vacation spot were hundreds of miles away, and you couldn’t use a map to get there? Do you think you could make it?

As seasons change, many species—big and small—undertake epic migrations by land, sea, and air. Some of them are looking for warmer climates or better food sources, while others need a safe place to breed.

Although the animals may face dangerous conditions or threats during their travels, many couldn’t survive if they didn’t migrate. Meet four animals that go to record-setting lengths to ensure the survival of their species.

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Arctic Tern

*World’s Longest Migration*

When it comes to long-distance migration, birds are the champions. But one species tops the charts: the arctic tern. This small gray seabird makes the longest migration of any animal in the world—traveling up to 60,000 miles during their seasonal journey!

Arctic terns spend summers in the Arctic Circle, the northernmost part of the world. When winter arrives, temperatures drop, and food becomes scarce. To find fish, the birds begin their trek south to Antarctica—at the other end of the globe! But when it’s winter in the South Pole, it’s summer in the North Pole. So in April, the birds begin making their trip back to the Arctic.

“As with almost all birds that migrate, they’re basically trying to spend the year in the places with the best resources,” says Andrew Farnsworth, a biologist who studies bird migration at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

The average lifespan of an arctic tern is 30 years. Scientists estimate that in its lifetime, a bird will travel as many as 1.8 million miles. That’s equal to nearly four trips to the moon and back! “The distance they travel is just amazing to think about,” says Farnsworth.

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Caribou

*Longest Migration on Land*

Caribou are found in North America as well as Europe and Asia, where they’re known as reindeer. But two herds in Alaska and Canada go the distance. The Bathurst and Porcupine caribou herds travel between their summer and winter spots, which are about 400 miles apart. But since they take a meandering route, the animals have been tracked traveling more than 800 miles for each migration.

In the spring, melting snow triggers pregnant females to begin heading to their winter grounds in the north. There, they will give birth to their calves. Other members of the herd eventually follow.

Exactly when the journey begins depends on the weather. In years when deep snow makes traveling difficult, caribou delay their migration. “Interestingly, years where the conditions are good, they’ll go slower, taking their time,” says Kyle Joly, a biologist with the National Park Service. “And then years where they have to delay due to the snow, they’ll migrate faster to make up for that lost time.”

The caribou’s summer range provides nutritious food for the new calves but is too harsh in the winter. Once temperatures drop in the fall, caribou herds slowly head back south.

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Globe Skimmer

*Longest Migration Of Any Insect*

Dragonflies are true world travelers, but it wasn’t until recently that scientists found out just how far they go. In a study published in 2016, researchers found that the Pantala flavescens, fittingly called the “globe skimmer,” migrates farther than any insect in the world. The researchers estimate the insects travel 4,400 miles each year.

Found on every continent except Antarctica, globe skimmers circle the world searching for mates. The insects have been spotted in swarms of hundreds of thousands crossing the Indian Ocean on their way from Asia to Africa. It’s the only known insect to migrate across ocean water.

Rutgers University biologist Jessica Ware, who led the study on the globe skimmer dragonfly, says, “We think some of their migration is tracking rainy seasons so that they can arrive in an area when there’s water.” That’s because females lay their eggs in water.

To complete these impressive journeys, the dragonflies use their wings to glide through the air. That means they don’t have to spend extra energy “flapping their wings constantly,” says Ware.

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Leatherback Turtle

*Longest Migration Of Any Sea Turtle*

Most sea turtles migrate between temperate feeding grounds and their nesting grounds in the tropics. These trips are often hundreds—and even thousands—of miles long.

But leatherback sea turtles are the real record holders, clocking more than 10,000 miles each year. “They’re moving around because their food, which is primarily jellyfish, is very dependent on ocean currents and nutrients,” says Daniel Evans, a biologist with the Sea Turtle Conservancy. “Leatherbacks move pretty constantly for two to three years before they come back to land to nest.”

Leatherbacks are the largest sea turtle species and are distributed throughout the world’s oceans. In the Pacific, leatherbacks will cross the entire Pacific Ocean from Asia to the west coast of the U.S. In 2008, satellites tracked a  leatherback turtle traveling a record-breaking 12,774 miles from Indonesia to Oregon!

Unit Rate
Watch an instructional video about unit rate.

Use this information to calculate the unit rate of speed for different animals’ migrations. Round answers to the nearest hundredth. Use the online answer sheet to record your work and answers.

An arctic tern can travel about 700 miles per day. If it flies for 20 hours per day, how many miles is the bird flying per hour?

If an arctic tern travels an average of 30 miles per hour and covers 25,000 miles per year, how many total hours of flying is that?

The caribou’s spring migration takes 2 weeks. The longest recorded migration was 838 miles. How far did the caribou travel per day?

Caribou are estimated to move about 600 meters per hour. How many miles per hour is that? (Hint: There are 1,609 meters in a mile.)

A dragonfly can fly up to about 180,000 feet per hour. What’s its speed in miles per hour? (Hint: There are 5,280 feet in 1 mile.)

If a dragonfly were to fly an average of 8 miles a day, how many years would it take to complete a migration route of 4,400 miles?

 It took the record-breaking leatherback turtle 647 days to travel 12,774 miles. What was its rate in miles per hour?

A. One leatherback travels about 25 kilometers per day. What’s the rate in miles per hour? (Hint: 1 mile = 1.6 kilometers)

B. At that rate, how many hours would it take this leatherback sea turtle to travel 10 miles?

 It took the record-breaking leatherback turtle 647 days to travel 12,774 miles. What was its rate in miles per hour?

Google Quiz

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