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Bar-headed geese fly to extraordinary heights, encircling the peaks of some of the highest mountains in the world.
The birds have been spotted by private mountaineers climbing Mount Everest for decades, but we have never really understood how they had managed it.
Now scientists who have raised a flock of geese as their own "kids" have discovered the secret to their high-altitude success, which can see them rise to 29,500 feet, lies in their ability to cool their blood to lower temperatures and conserve energy.
Experiments conducted at the University of British Columbia attached miniature backpacks to birds and trained them to fly under oxygen blower conditions to a wind tunnel to test their abilities.
Researchers raised geese and trained them to fly in a wind tunnel (photo) while wearing backpacks and helmets to measure their vital signs. They then discovered that birds could lower their blood temperature and metabolism to maximize and preserve their energy.
Experiments at the University of British Columbia have attached miniature backpacks (illustrated) to birds and a headgear to monitor their vital activity. They were then trained to fly in a wind tunnel to test their abilities
Jessica Meir worked at the university when they worked on the project and became surrogate mothers to the birds. She bought goose eggs, raised them as surrogate mothers and, when they hatched, began training animals to fly in a confined space.
Scientists raised chicks for the sole purpose of experimenting and understanding the secrets of their flight
This includes the story of the team of intrepid explorer Edmund Hillary who, in 1953, while he was in the so-called "death zone", thought to have seen a goose flying at above the summit.
Jessica Meir worked on the project and purchased 19 helmeted geese eggs and bred them as a surrogate mother.
Then, when they hatched, she and a colleague trained the animals to fly in a confined space.
Researchers say this has not been natural for geese.
They did not really understand it. Some were turning around and trying to escape the wind. They would be caught in their own feathers. It was a disaster, "said Ms. York, currently at the Texas University in Austin, at the Times.
Contemporary stories have claimed that the birds had been seen up to 9,500 m altitude.
It includes the story of those who climb Everest with explorer Edmund Hillary. In 1953, while he was in the "death zone", George Lowe thought he saw a goose flying over the summit while he was striving to carry supplies.
The scientific experiments followed by birds timed them at 7,290 m (24,000 feet).
The research results, published in eLife, reveal that they adjust their metabolic rate to cope with places where the air is so thin.
They found that six of the seven birds able to fly in the tunnel were able to fly at moderately low oxygen levels, equivalent to about 5,500 m (18,000 ft).
Three of the birds were also willing to fly under conditions of very low oxygen, equivalent to altitudes of about 9,500 m, the highest altitude ever recorded.
The researchers measured birds' heart rate, rate of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production as well as blood temperature.
Geese were trained and accustomed to the headgear and unusual attachments they had to wear (pictured) to track their internal vital signs.
Researchers purchased goose eggs, raised them as surrogate mothers, and when they hatched began training animals to fly in a confined space (photo). Researchers say it's not something that came naturally to geese
Contemporary evidence from different people over time has indicated that the birds were seen up to 9,000 m, while projects followed them up to 7,200 m and the wind tunnel reproduced these conditions.
The pretty fuzzy feather balls (photo) were trained to carry the equipment so that researchers could learn more about their biology
Training (photo) and bird studies have revealed that geese have the natural ability to manipulate their metabolic rate and blood temperature, allowing them to travel at high altitudes.
They were surprised to find that the heart rate was about the same as low-flying, but lowered their blood temperature and metabolism.
"We were surprised to find that their heart rate during the reduced oxygen flights was not higher than that of flights with normal oxygen levels," Ms. York said.
"We also found that the temperature in their veins decreased during our simulated flights, which would significantly increase the amount of oxygen they can carry in their blood.
"Our data suggest that animals are able to reduce their metabolism based on the reduced amount of oxygen available, with no evidence of oxygen limitation."
York and Dr. Meir, who is now a NASA astronaut and scheduled for the ISS at the end of the month, had to say goodbye to their geese, who were adopted by a waterfowl enthusiast in Vancouver.
Geese were born for this research, their lives and training allowed scientists to unravel one of the strangest quirks of bird anatomy.
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