On Saturday 8th March 2014, flight MH370, a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing

loaded with 239 passengers tragically went missing over the Indian Ocean.

Now I remember quite vividly at how the enormous difficulty in finding any wreckage or sign

of the plane by the search and rescue teams that were deployed quickly became international

news, as ships and aircraft sought to locate MH370 and find out what happened.

But imagine instead if we could send out a team of flying search robots that could glide

effortlessly over the waves covering vast distances with minimal energy.

Well in the future that might just be possible, and it's all thanks to one of nature's

most astonishing feats of aerial evolution, the Wandering Albatross.

When I think of animals that are truly masters of the skies, the Wandering Albatross is

easily a strong contender for the top spot. They are enormous sea birds with the largest

recorded wingspan of any bird reaching up to a massive 3.5 meters across, which is about

the same length as a small car. Plus its wings are uniquely adapted to saw thousands of miles

with minimum effort. Given that Albatross nest on remote islands and spend several years of their

adult life out at sea, many of us are unlikely to have seen one in the flesh. But if you can picture

something that looks a bit like an overgrown seagull with a large pink bill and pink feet,

then you're on the right track. For centuries the Albatross has captured the imagination of artists,

poets, writers, but more recently these graceful birds have caught the attention of scientists

and have served as the inspiration for a new flying machine.

Hello and welcome back to 30 animals that made us smarter, an original podcast from the BBC

World Service, which reveals how animals like the Blue Muscle, Firefly and Woodpecker,

which have all featured in previous episodes, have been helping us out with some really

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