There never was a Monique III

April 26, 2020 8:06 PM

A Space Elk Named Monique - Recently I found myself wondering about the animal subjects who participated, unwillingly and unwittingly, in their development. Who was the first creature to wear a satellite collar, and how did it go?

From The Last Word On Nothing

posted by the man of twists and turns (4 comments total)

Fascinating stuff; surprised I don’t remember hearing more about it then (I would have been 6 years old and was very much into the space race as well as nature). But I have to say this was pretty spot on:

As one New Jersey congressman cautioned:

“This use of wildlife demonstrates a perfectly plausible way from some individuals to stifle the life of their fellow humans… If Nimbus 3 can tell all about Moe, Nimbus 10 or 50 or 100 can tell all about a ship or an airplane or, for that matter, a person. All it would take would be a bug attached in the right place.”
posted by TedW at 8:33 PM on April 26, 2020

Migration isn’t a journey between two endpoints; migration is the point
posted by pracowity at 8:13 AM on April 27, 2020 [1 favorite]

My mom lives in a town surrounded by parkland on the Olympic penninsula, some Elk there are tagged such that lights on the 'Elk crossing' signs flash when they approach the highway. It has been deemed a success in reducing vehicle-Elk collisions, so they keep tagging any Elk that tend to come to town.

We wouldn't have to tag them if they'd just push the crosswalk button, you know?
posted by buildmyworld at 8:55 AM on April 27, 2020 [2 favorites]

one New Jersey congressman

As the linked article mentions, the representative in question was Cornelius Gallagher, who was had ample reason to be concerned about bugs.
posted by zamboni at 9:18 PM on April 27, 2020 [1 favorite]