RESEARCH - Participate in Cat and Wild Bird Study

The issue of bird mortality caused by cats has long been a concern for people involved with birds around the world.

In an effort to understand people’s experience with and perception of wild birds and cats, the University of Guelph (U of G) has created a new study.

This new study is part of a larger body of research by the U of G.

They recently released an outdoor cat population study they completed in the city of Guelph.

Based on 145 surveys, the city has about 7,600 outdoor cats, up to 50 per city block. Guelph is home to 120,000 people.

The researchers counted cats on city streets, paths and alleys, and estimated totals for each survey area. The approach uses information readily available in most urban areas in North America, they said.

“The study was done using techniques that are easy, quick and cheap, providing an opportunity to apply the method to any community that is interested in knowing their number of free-roaming outdoor cats,” lead author Tyler Flockhart, a Liber Ero post-doctoral researcher at U of G, said in a release.

“The hope is that we can bring together cat supporters and bird advocates to take actions to improve cat welfare and reduce the effect of outdoor cats on birds.”

You are invited to participate by taking the study which examines perceptions of wild birds and outdoor cats.

Participants can enter for a chance to win $100 (odds are 1 in 250)!

Participation involves the completion of two short online surveys and the viewing of a short interactive online video, all done in one sitting.

The survey will take approximately 20 minutes in total and all participants must be 18 years of age or older.

If you are interested in participating please click on this link.

You are invited to widely distribute/ pass on this survey link to your contacts.

Contact Kenlyn Ramsey with any questions or concerns regarding this study. Research Ethics Board Approved (REB# 16JN033)

WELFARE - New Zealand Builds Their First Penguin Underpass

In an effort to protect local penguins, a special tunnel was built to help the birds travel between their nests and the sea at Oamaru Harbour, Otago, on the east coast of the South Island.

The 80 foot (25 metre) underpass, the first of its kind in New Zealand, was “supported by the local Waitaki district council, as well as a number of private businesses who offered labour, materials, and advice,” Jason Gaskill, general manager of Tourism Waitaki Limited, told Reuters

Dangers from traffic, as well as tourists wanting to take photos of the Little Blue Penguins, prompted the construction project.

Other threats Little Blue Penguins - the smallest penguin in the world - face include predators like dogs, cats and stoats, and loss of habitat through erosion.

Construction began in September of this year and included moving power and water lines along the route to accommodate the tunnel.

Concerns the birds may not know to use the underpass were assuaged this month when the tunnel officially opened.

Lights were set up to help the penguins navigate the passage and cameras were placed nearby to monitor its use. Penguin after penguin are on video shaking their tail feathers as they waddle through the underpass.

DIGITAL - Internet of Things for Wildlife and Conservation

(internetofelephants.com)

The Internet of Things (IoT) has the potential to revolutionize the way conservationists engage the public with their work, and even how they do their jobs.

Through sophisticated tracking equipment, Project RAPID (Real-Time Anti Poaching Intelligence Device) is able to protect endangered rhinos and other endangered animals.

The project relies on satellite signals, heart rate monitors, and even video streaming.

The monitoring team is notified when an animal’s heart rate spikes, and they can observe the animal through a small camera implanted in the rhino’s horn. From there, help can be dispatched.

Project RAPID highlights many of the benefits and also some of the challenges involved with using IoT technology in conservation. Every rhino being monitored this way needs to be caught, sedated, and the video camera implanted. Replacing the batteries will be a challenge.

Another collar-based wildlife project is Elephants Without Borders, which tracks elephant movement across political boundaries, and highlights the impact of human development on wild animals.

War and conflict can change wild animal’s behaviour as they avoid dangerous areas, and the EWB project has shown that in areas where conflict has ceased, such as Angola, elephants are returning.

This project also tracks other large herbivores, such as giraffes.

Most current GPS tracking devices for wild animals have a 9-12 month battery life, and each battery change requires capturing the animal again.

These project teams are probably looking forward to self-charging batteries, which have been in development for years now, and appear to be close to launching for some devices. Once they become viable they will be an important part of the IoT for animals and people!

Instant Detect is another IoT innovation in animal conservation, using a range of technologies to create early-warning systems for poaching activity in protected areas without having to capture the animals.

Camera traps, as well as seismic and magnetic ground sensors, collect data and are designed to recognize the presence of humans.

This information is sent via satellite to individual users. Rather than relying on information connected to the animal itself, Instant Detect takes advantage of the environmental sensors that are the hallmark of so many IoT applications.

As InfoStream previously reported, the International Space Station is going to be used for wildlife tracking and conservation efforts through the ICARUS Initiative - with the ability to monitor and track hundreds, or possibly thousands of birds, bats and other animals in real time.

The Internet of Elephants is using the IoT in yet another way, gamifying conservation to engage members of the public. The project uses game mechanics to allow users to interact with wild animals through the app.

Internet of Elephants founder Gautam Shah is also looking for future applications of the IoT for conservation.

The Hackathon for Wildlife, which took place in at Solstice Mobile’s Chicago headquarters last November, generated app ideas as varied as incorporating VR into child education, and a “Habitap” app that would allow users to follow animals in real time.

The Internet of Things offers huge potential for conservationists.

Whether they’re bringing wild animals into people’s phones, or deploying rescue teams in response to remote sensors, conservationists are bringing the wild closer in order to keep it safer.

By Tiffany Sostar

Tiffany is a writer, editor, academic, and animal lover who came late to her appreciation of pets. At 18, a rescue pup named Tasha saved her from a depression and she hasn't looked back. She has worked as the canine behaviour program coordinator for the Calgary Humane Society, and was a dog trainer specializing in working with fearful and reactive dogs for many years. She doesn't have any pets right now, but makes up for it by giving her petsitting clients (and any dogs she comes across on her frequent coffee shop adventures) extra snuggles.

INNOVATION - Space Station to be Used for Animal Conservation

A breakthrough in animal tracking technology could lead to revolutionizing the way man tracks animals across the globe.

The ICARUS Initiative (International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space), founded by Martin Wiselski and his team at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, is getting ready to launch a new technology that Wiselski has dubbed as ‘the best ever possible sensing network of life on the planet’.

(NASA)

The technology is ‘extremely light radio tags that can be attached to the tiniest of animals’ and will be launched and implemented in the Russian Service Module of the International Space Station in June 2017 – with the ability to monitor and track hundreds, or possibly thousands of birds, bats and other animals in real time.

This ‘space station safari’ could result in major contributions to global species conservation efforts.

The potential impact of ICARUS is yet to be determined. Scientists are confident the project will enable them to not only better understand animals and their migratory habits, but it will help them understand more about the planet – including pathways and hiding places for animal-borne diseases and other pathogens such as the West Nile virus, SARS and bird flu, as well as the ability of animals to anticipate natural disasters.

For decades scientists have faced hurdles over how to map the courses of such animals, as satellite telemetry tags continue to be slow and expensive; with the smallest weighing at least 10 grams, this proves too weighty for any tiny avian species weighing less than 240 grams.

Wiselski came across the idea over conversation with George Swenson, one of the pioneers of using radio telemetry for tracking wildlife and one of the constructors of the Very Large Array – a radio astronomy observatory located 80 km west of Socorro, New Mexico; that was 15 years ago.

The hardest obstacle was funding.

“We went to NASA,” said Wisleski in an interview with The Atlantic. “They thought the project so unlikely that it was set in the same category as the space elevator.”

Eventually funds were secured from the German Aerospace Centre and the Max Planck Society to make the first small tags. The first generation weighed in at 5 grams and ‘comes equipped with a solar panel, GPS, and a huge memory, and can measure acceleration, temperature, bearing, pressure, light intensity, and more.’

Animals, essentially, will become easy-to-track sensors for researchers. Over time, the data will be loaded to a MoveBank – a free online animal tracking database.

Non-binding orders for ICARUS satellite tags are available to researchers now. 

By Lindsay Seewalt
Lindsay is an experienced journalist and mother of three whose heart and home is always open to a four-legged friend. With her Corgi, Angie, as household editor-in-chief, Lindsay gives back to the animal planet through the written word on anything and all ado about pets. She is passionate about topics regarding animal welfare and responsible pet ownership, which she aims to instill in both her readers and children to be compassionate animal lovers who are conscious and considerate that furry friends around the globe deserve a voice.