Roaming charges are such a pain.
A group of Russian researchers were feeling that reality hard recently, after a group of eagles fitted with tracking devices hit them with a serious cellphone bill. After summering in an area of Kazakhstan with no cellphone service, the steppe eagles began their expected migration — but not all of them took the expected route.
According to volunteers at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, tracking devices on the eagles had attempted to send out multiple SMS messages per day all summer long. It's how the researchers keep track of the raptors' location, but none of the messages were going through. So, when a group of birds detoured into Iran and finally connected to a cellphone tower, the messages were all sent at once.
The problem for the researchers being that SMS messages from Iran cost just a tad bit more than ones sent from Russia.
The migratory path.Credit: screenshot / Russian Raptor Research and Conservation Network"At 49 rubles per message ... all messages accumulated over the summer, and this is about 4 SMS per day, from May to September," reads an Oct. 24 social media post (translated from Russian via Google Translate) from the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center explaining the situation. "As a result, shortly after the start of the autumn migration, the budget of the eagles was completely exhausted."
Forty-nine rubles is roughly equal to $.77.
A steppe eagle doing its thing near the India-Pakistan border.Credit: TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / gettyTo cover the costs, researchers asked for donations from the public — who, thankfully, responded with financial assistance to top off the eagles' SIMs.
"The money collected is now enough to pay for SMS messages not only before the end of the year, but also until the end of the migration," wrote research volunteers in an Oct. 26 update (translated via Google Translate).
SEE ALSO:The app that went from Instagram trash to cleaning up the worldSeveral mobile providers reportedly decided to hop on the goodwill train, offering to provide the eagles' service free of charge.
Steppe eagles, it seems, will continue to text from wherever they want.
TopicsAnimals
(责任编辑：熱點)
The five guys who climbed Australia's highest mountain, in swimwear
CNBC segment goes off the rails with barking dogs, man in underwear
The 10 best Google Chrome extensions to make your life easier
Wordle today: Here's the answer, hints for June 10
You will love/hate Cards Against Humanity's new fortune cookiesSnapchat is about to explode in popularity, report says
Snapchat is about to have a couple of really good years. 。The company will see huge gains in the numb
...[详细]Hulu will accept political issue ads after pressure from Democratic organizations, candidates
With midterm elections right around the corner, Democratic organizations and candidates just scored
...[详细]Climate change is impacting hurricanes. Here's how.
Hurricane scientists and research meteorologists are intensively studying how storms like the powerf
...[详细]Apple's MacBook Air with M2 chip is now available to order
Apple's new MacBook Air, the first laptop to feature the company's new M2 chip, is now available to
...[详细]Over 82,000 evacuate as Blue Cut fire rapidly spreads in southern California
A rapidly spreading wildfire in southern California's Cajon Pass has grown in hot, dry weather, thre
...[详细]Nothing Phone 1 will have a mid
When it leaks, it pours. At least that's the case with the Nothing Phone 1, the first-ever smartphon
...[详细]Apple made Telegram remove an animated emoji feature in its iOS app
Telegram just found out the hard way that you don't piggyback off of Apple's innovations.After a len
...[详细]9 accounts advocating for reproductive justice and health conversations
The incessant negative news and vapid takes on our social feeds can easily feel overwhelming, buildi
...[详细]Tesla's rumored P100D could make Ludicrous mode even more Ludicrous
A Tesla Model S P100D begs the question: What's more Ludicrous than Ludicrous?Right now, the biggest
...[详细]Apple's MacBook Air with M2 chip is now available to order
Apple's new MacBook Air, the first laptop to feature the company's new M2 chip, is now available to
...[详细]There's a big piece of fake chicken stuck to this phone case
Gmail won't mark political fundraising emails as spam anymore
