OREANDA-NEWS. Mountain geese are known for their ability to fly at high altitudes, but it is still unknown how they cope with a lack of oxygen.  Scientists from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom forced animals to fly under conditions of normal, low and extremely low oxygen content.

 As part of the experiment, it was planned to find out how these birds can fly at extremely low oxygen levels at extreme altitudes of 5 to 6 kilometers.  Experts studied the physiology of geese and their metabolic costs during flight.

 It turned out that geese are able to slow down their metabolism.  Therefore, they have enough resources to withstand at least a few minutes, even in conditions that simulate a height of 9000 meters - this is higher than Everest.  The study is published in the journal eLife.

 As a result, scientists were able to establish that the heart rate of geese during the flight did not increase, but the body temperature decreased, which increased the amount of oxygen carried in the blood.  The rate of geese metabolism increased by 16 times compared with flight at normal oxygen levels.  In humans, the maximum rates of this increase in metabolism did not exceed 10 times.