We're far from being heroes

Dear Reader

Imagine someone arriving at the airfield and programming their aircraft on a computer so that it climbs to 100 meters on its own, then flies a perfectly straight course, independently surveys a 10-hectare field, and takes photographs. Even the landing takes place without any intervention from the pilot. With such model airplanes, for example, entire areas can be scanned for cartographic mapping, etc.—tasks that until recently were reserved solely for manned aircraft. Electronics have long since found their way into our lives. And the trend will continue, never ceasing to amaze us. Despite our interest in and enjoyment of these new possibilities, we have every reason to keep our feet on the ground. After all, what did Sardona—the young bearded vulture released into the wild two years ago in the Calfeisen Valley—achieve recently? He didn’t just fly to the Bernese

Oberland, the Valais, and the Allgäu. No—one day he flew over Normandy all the way to the North Sea. Experts had already written Sardona off as lost to our Alpine region. But one day, the bird reappeared in the Calfeisen Valley, where it circled with a “companion.” How did it find its way home? We now know that fruit bats fly according to a map stored in their brains, covering up to 25 km per night. When I watch the white storks at Lützelsee and imagine how the young birds cross the Mediterranean and the Sahara for the first time—all on their own—in August to reach their wintering grounds in East Africa and even South Africa, I can’t help but feel a sense of awe. How much technical effort would we have to expend to be able to even begin to replicate all of this? We know a lot and can always

more. Nevertheless, nature remains far superior to us. The rather foolish belief that we humans can do anything has always led to catastrophes. As is well known, the last major one took place 70 years ago. As an enthusiastic model airplane enthusiast, I would therefore like to remain humble.

Sincerely,
Emil Ch. Giezendanner