The mystery of the “Bermuda Triangle” of the homing pigeon world may have been solved. For years, scientists have been baffled as to why the usually excellent navigators get lost when released from a particular site in New York State.
The puzzle of the vanishing pigeons began in the 1960s. Professor Bill Keeton from Cornell University was trying to understand the birds’ astonishing ability to find their way home from places they have never previously visited. He released birds throughout New York State, but was surprised to discover that whenever the pigeons were released at Jersey Hill, near Ithaca, they became disorientated and flew about aimlessly. This happened again and again, apart from on one occasion on 13 August 1969 when the birds’ navigational prowess returned and they flew back to their loft.
But new research suggests the birds are using low frequency sounds to find their way around – and they cannot hear the rumble at this US location. [1] The study is published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
Well, I have another theory.
Is it pure coincidence that the problem arised at… Ithaka? Is it pure coincidence that like Odysseus, pigeons were searching for their Ithaka without success for years? I believe coincidences are created via a specific mechanism which tries to tell us something. Read Homer. He may have the answer… And don’t tell me that this theory is more… “radical” than a theory which postulates the use of low frequency waves from the deep ocean thousands of miles away. If the pigeons can hear the ocean from so far away, they can surely feel the ripples of history back from the days of Agamemnon and Achilleus… Who knows. Pigeons may help us realize how history binds us all together – living and dead, animals and humans – into One single existence…
Perhaps we should wait for 20 years and see if the “lost” pigeons return to their Ithaka, like the ancient Greek hero?
