Why It’s Hard to Break the Gnus
It's all about their efficient muscles.
Scientists, on top of being good at their actual research, must also excel at fund-raising, mentorship, management, teaching, and public speaking. To that list, Alan Wilson must add marksmanship. For his latest project, he had to shoot fast-moving wildebeest with tranquilizer darts, while hanging out the side of an equally fast-moving helicopter. “It’s not easy,” says Wilson, who is a professor at the Royal Veterinary College, “but I’ve misspent my life in many ways and part of it was in the military.”
It helped that wildebeest—cow-like antelopes, also known as gnus—behave predictably. As the helicopter pilot flew toward them, they would always run away in a straight line. As the vehicle drew nearer, they would invariably bank under
