Hyenas are to be tracked by text across Africa by Nottingham researchers
A Nottingham Trent University team will receive text messages from devices fitted to the collars of brown hyenas.
Radio transmitters will help pinpoint their exact location and record their movements and behaviour.
PhD student Louisa Richmond-Coggan, from the university's school of animal, rural and environmental sciences, will fly to South Africa later this month. She'll spend six months working with wildlife experts at the Pilanesberg National Park.
Hyenas will be captured from within and outside of a protected area and fitted with collars that house a global positioning system (GPS) device and radio transmitter The GPS device relays the co-ordinates of the hyena via the text message system and the movement of the animal is plotted withGoogle Earth.
The radio transmitter within the collar then allows the experts to pinpoint the animal's exact location using a portable receiver.
Louisa's research will help to identify the reasons for differences in density and distribution between brown hyena populations both inside and outside protected areas. Her findings will help ways to reduce threats to hyenas in non-protected areas.
Louisa said: "I'm really excited about the research that we're carrying out in this project.
"There is a strong argument that hyenas are able to survive outside of protected areas but we need to gather information to help us better understand what their habitat preferences are."
Dr Richard Yarnell, an expert in biodiversity surveying from Nottingham Trent University, has secured a grant from National Geographic to support the research project.
Dr Yarnell said: "Using technology in this way to track and monitor the behaviour of these animals should help us to secure a better future for them.
"We're confident that our results will be of real use for helping to influence policy decisions for conservation management."
With estimates of the brown hyena population in South Africa thought to be less than 1,700, the species is at risk.
Although they are legally protected, many farmers kill the animals to protect their livestock.
Source:
thisisnottingham