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Maps in Mind – How Animals Get Home?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2003

D. F. H. Grocott
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Abstract

The ability of animals to find their way, without the benefit of mechanical or electronic aids to navigation, has fascinated humans for centuries. Relying on innate knowledge, coupled with the extraction of navigational data from the natural features of the universe, animals continually confound humans with their skills in locomotion. The magnetic compass, sun compass, strip maps, snapshots, target maps, temperature charts and star charts are known to feature in the overall animal navigation kit. Each species selects the most appropriate ‘map/chart’ and navigation kit for its environment.

Keywords

Animal NavigationDead Reckoning
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Navigation , Volume 56 , Issue 1 , January 2003 , pp. 1 - 14
Copyright
© 2003 The Royal Institute of Navigation

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Footnotes

The E. G. R. Taylor Lecture is jointly sponsored by the Institute with the Royal Geographical Society, the Hakluyt Society and the Society for Nautical Research to enable a lecture to be given every year by a distinguished scholar in one or other of the branches of knowledge to which Professor Taylor made such notable contributions. The 2002 lecture was presented at a meeting held in the Royal Geographical Society on 10 October 2002.