Shifts in Magnetic Field Sidetrack Homing Pigeons
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ESSEN, West Germany — Up to 6,000 West German homing pigeons, disoriented by changes in the earth’s magnetic field, lost their way home from Denmark, the Assn. of German Carrier Pigeon Fanciers said Friday.
“Some 12,000 pigeons were set off in southern Denmark last Saturday and should have been home after about eight hours,” association spokesman Klaus Kuehntopp said. “But between 40% and 50% of them still haven’t turned up.”
Unusually strong sun eruptions last Sunday after the pigeons left Haderslev in southern Jutland altered the earth’s magnetic field, disturbing their sense of direction, he said.
“We have known about this phenomenon for a long time but have never really previously given it the weight it deserved,” said Kuehntopp.
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