Setting impossibly high standards – each Winter in India Bar-headed geese (Anser indicus) take to the sky and travel northward, climbing to an altitude between 4-6 km above sea level before crossing over the Himalayas (Hawkes et al, 2011, PNAS 108(23): 9516-9519).
No geese were harmed while exercising on the treadmill
Here, a single Bar-headed goose exercises on a treadmill, while researchers from an international team, including Prof. Peter Frappell from the University of Tasmania, collect behavioural and running speed data using an ADInstruments data acquisition system. Data from this field study has helped researchers understand the unique physiology of Bar-headed geese, and how they are able to sustain prolonged exercise in a low oxygen environment.