Biologists and conservationists first used the global positioning system (GPS) to track animals in the 1990’s when devices became small enough to utilise in this manner. One of the earliest use cases of GPS tracking technology for conservation was a study by Cynthia Moss on elephants in Kenya. In this instance, a GPS tracking sensor proved that elephants were crossing the Kenyan border into Tanzania and into the path of wildlife hunters.
GPS ANIMAL TRACKING TECHNOLOGY
In fact, wildlife tracking goes back much further, to the use of radar in the 1940s, acoustic telemetry in the 1950s, and radio or VHF telemetry in the 1960s. In the 1980s passive integrated transponder, or PIT, tags were used to study fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds and geolocators were also used in the 1990s to track birds.
GPS tracking devices are now tiny and either disposable or quickly reusable. As well as connecting to the GPS network they also can use mobile networks and are of course Bluetooth and Wifi enabled so they are now part of our global, growing, IoT network.
Once enabled, today’s tracking devices connect to powerful device-based software and give real time instantaneous updates. GPS tracking devices can be setup with geofencing to indicate when a tracker enters or leaves an area. They can also record a device’s entire history, feeding the information back to the device operator without them needing to retrieve a device. These key features of GPS tracking devices are incredibly useful when monitoring and protecting wildlife. GPS devices and management software can be configured to give instant alerts based on given perimeters. Should an elephant with a tracker, for example, leave its sanctuary area today conservationists and biologists can be instantly notified enabling them to quickly act.
SUCCESSFUL ANIMAL TRACKING IMPLEMENTATIONS
The use of GPS tracking in conservation and preventing the illegal trade in elephant ivory has progressed even further. In 2015 renowned taxidermist George Dante was tasked with designing artificial elephant tusks which were to be embedded with a custom-made GPS and satellite based tracking system. These fake tusks were to be infiltrated into the illegal ivory trade in order to track ivory movement through poacher and dealer networks giving vital clues to help combat such illicit trade.
GPS wildlife tracking has likely now been implemented in most sizeable ecosystems. From elephants to birds, tigers, whales, sharks, and even turtles. As with the ivory trade, GPS trackers are not just being attached to animals.
Just this month Science Magazine reported on conservation scientist Kim Williams-Guillén’s eureka moment where she realised, she could place GPS trackers in fake turtle eggs in order to track egg thieves and protect sea turtles. Williams-Guillén won the 2015 Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge and $10,000 for the idea. Now, the results of the first field test of the “InvestEGGator” device have been published. Out of 101 GPS tracked decoy eggs, five tracked turtle egg poachers for kilometres. The approach has been hailed as “amazing” in the battle to stop egg smugglers. All seven species of sea turtle are endangered, some critically.
SUMMARY
As we have seen, GPS tracking of wildlife is aiding conservation efforts globally. These are just a tiny few examples. GPS tracking can help to track animal journeys to keep them safe, identify behaviour patterns to increase our knowledge, monitor animal numbers, and much more.
GPS trackers for animals are now readily available and easy to use for both experts and for consumers. These tracking devices can be used for domestic pets, for livestock, and for horses to prevent theft and help ensure wandering animals remain safely within their home boundaries.
Further Reading:
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/09/where-do-the-animals-go-everywhere/540399/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_wildlife_tracking_technology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPS_wildlife_tracking
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tracking-ivory/article.html
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/10/endangered-baby-sea-turtles-may-have-new-savior-gps-eggs