Dear e-obs Community,
As we wrap up 2024, we want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible achievements we’ve made together. This year has been filled with innovation, collaboration, and remarkable advancements in wildlife conservation. Our commitment to empowering researchers and advancing technology has never been stronger.
We are particularly excited to announce our “Small Project Grant” initiative aimed at supporting local science and conservation projects. Together, we are making a difference for wildlife and the ecosystems they inhabit.
Thank you for your continued support and dedication to our mission.
Here’s to a successful 2025!Warm regards,
your e-obs team
e-obs Small Project Grant
Announcing the “e-obs Small Project Grant” – Empowering local tracking initiatives in emerging countries!
At e-obs, we believe every small science & conservation project deserves to be heard. That’s why we’re launching a special grant program to support smaller organizations and researchers with limited funding who are working tirelessly to protect wildlife worldwide by tracking the movement and behaviour of animals.
What’s included?
- Up to 3 cellular GPS-birdtags per project at greatly discounted rates.
- 3 years of free global cellular roaming with up to 1.5MB of data per month per tag.
- Outstanding e-obs support during all stages of your project.
Who can apply?
All researchers, organisations and projects which meet the following criteria:
- You are part of a small-scale science & conservation projects with limited funding.
- You work at a local project in emerging countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia or Oceania.
- Your project is focused to create a meaningful impact in the field of wildlife research and protection.
Join us in creating a world where every small project has an impact!
For more information, please click HERE or contact our Grant Coordinator Christin Trapp directly: christin.trapp@e-obs.de
Highlights 2024
Team Buildup
In 2024, we expanded our team by onboarding additional specialists in engineering, software development, and customer support. With this added expertise, we are prepared to meet all the requirments for future growth of 2025 and beyond.
Technical Developments
This year, our focus was on refining our current product line-up while laying the foundations for exciting furture products.
One notable highlight is the significant upgrade to our Bird Solar Cellular 25g/ 27g tags:
- 4G (LTE) Connectivity: An optional alternative for data transmission in regions with LTE coverage, complementing existing communication methods.
- Barometric Pressure Sensor: Added functionality to capture precise altitude data.
The upgraded Bird Solar Cellular 25g and 27g tags are offered as a additional product variant, providing advanced capabilities for specific research needs.
Conference Highlights
This year, e-obs participated in numerous conferences worldwide, engaging with researchers, conservationists, and industry leaders. Our booth showcased our latest tracking technologies, and we were honored to be present at several key sessions.
Highlights include:
The Wildlife Society Conference, Baltimore, USA
The TWS conference is a great example of a large event with a broad focus, connecting researchers across all fields of wildlife science. With a massive exhibition hall and excellent organization, it’s always a valuable platform for networking and exploring the latest research developments.
The Neotropical Raptor Conference, Bogota, Columbia
In contrast, the NTRC is a highly specialized event, bringing together an expert audience focused solely on raptor research in the Neotropics. As the first conference of its kind, it highlights the evolving research in this area, with a unique opportunity to engage with cutting-edge studies and conservation efforts in raptor ecology.
We are in the planning stage for 2025. If you have a conference in mind we should attend, please let us know.
Research Output
In 2024, e-obs contributed to over 40 new publications in the field of wildlife conservation, showcasing research that utilized our tracking technology. These papers highlight various species and ecosystems, and we are proud of the impact our products have on advancing scientific understanding and conservation strategies.
Highlights include:
Compromise or choose: shared movement decisions in wild vulturine guineafowl. Communications biology
This is a brilliant study consistently producing impactful publications. With over 1 billion data points generated, it’s setting new standards in research.
The study examines collective movement decisions in wild vulturine guineafowl using high-resolution GPS trackers. Both males and females can initiate movement, with males more likely to be followed. When disagreement is low, the birds compromise on direction, but when it’s high, they follow the majority, indicating simple collective decision-making rules.
The movement ecology and airfield interactions of resident, airside hares, at an international airport
This study was exemplarily chosen for its specific study question and practical relevance to airport safety.
The study investigates movement patterns and airfield interactions of resident Irish hares at Dublin International Airport. Using GPS collars, researchers observed 4,571 interactions with tarmacked areas over an eight-month period, with a peak in activity during early mornings. The data provide insights into seasonal and daily movement patterns, highlighting potential periods of increased strike risk with aircraft.
Advantages and disadvantages of using social information for carcass detection – A case study using white-backed vultures
This study was chosen as a high-end example of how advanced methods like agent-based modeling, AI, and accelerometer (ACC) data are unlocking new wildlife research possibilities.
Ecological Modelling. The research examines white-backed vultures’ foraging strategies, focusing on how social behaviors like “vulture chains” influence food discovery and competition. By integrating cutting-edge technology and ecological modeling, the study offers innovative insights into their behavior and ecosystem role.
e-obs Beyond Wildlife: Where Innovation Meets Imagination
Tracking technology isn’t just a tool for science—it’s a source of inspiration. In this section, we explore how e-obs tags are being used in unexpected and creative ways, expanding their impact far beyond wildlife research.
From art installations to speculative futures, discover how innovation and imagination come together.
Strengthening Ties with Firetail
This year, we deepened our collaboration with Firetail, a cutting-edge software company specializing in wildlife tracking and advanced behavioral analysis. Firetail’s platform seamlessly integrates sophisticated telemetry data with ecological insights, providing researchers and conservationists with powerful tools to better understand and protect wildlife populations.
Our partnership isn’t just about innovation—it’s about synergy. Together, we aim to bring groundbreaking solutions to the wildlife tracking community, making high-end technologies accessible to a broader range of research applications. Firetail’s technologies are now also distributed through e-obs, creating a seamless integration of our networks and expertise.
Firetail is on the move with notable projects, including:
- Large-scale evaluation of behavioral states in King vultures (Sarcoramphus papa): Developing predictive models for understudied species in collaboration with Osa Conservation. See Spotlight 1
- Combining accelerometer and video data: Firetail’s FireSOM algorithm and VideoSync module now enable the synchronization of sensor data with video footage for in-depth behavioral analysis. See Spotlight 2
Spotlights: From the Field
In this section, we celebrate the inspiring work of researchers utilizing e-obs technology in their wildlife studies. Here are standout projects showcasing the impact of our tracking systems on wildlife conservation:
Towards large-scale evaluation of behavioral states in wild understudied King vultures (Sarcoramphus papa)
Challenges for evaluating wild animal predictions
In last year’s newsletter, we provided this community with a short primer on the joint work of the Osa Conservation (https://osaconservation.org/) and the Firetail team (www.firetail.de), explaining our approaches to the prediction of behavioral states by acceleration data recorded for wild King vultures in Costa Rica.
Here, we provide an update to this work. In particular, we discuss our solutions towards a deeper
understanding of the captured data and means to evaluate predictions for these animals.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Ear-Tag Trial with Bighorn Sheep: Energy, GPS, ACC, and Future Potential
In a focused ear-tag trial with captive bighorn sheep, e-obs tested its Bird Solar 15g transmitter as a solar-powered tag. The collaboration with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department demonstrated:
- Reliable solar energy intake ensured stable operation throughout the trial.
- GPS fix rates exceeded 98%, providing high positional accuracy.
- High-quality accelerometer data validated the usability of ear-mounted tags.
- Mechanical reliability was confirmed through rigorous field conditions.
This project highlights the potential of lightweight, efficient solar-powered tags for large mammals like bighorn sheep.
Firetail Collaboration: Moving forward, we plan to merge recorded video data with ACC readings, enabling detailed behavioral analysis.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
The Life of Valkyria: A Golden Eagle’s Journey
THE AEQUILIBRIUM + PROJECT: Study of the mediterranean golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos homeyeri) across its distribution range
Follow the incredible journey of Valkyria, a Mediterranean golden eagle tagged in 2016.
From her early days in Madrid to her role in the AEQUILIBRIUM+ Project, Valkyria has provided invaluable insights into eagle behavior and territory use.
Discover how she has adapted to changes in her environment, raised numerous chicks, and navigated challenges over the years.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Thank You to Our Partners and Supporters
As we conclude our annual newsletter, we want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our partners, collaborators, and supporters. Your dedication and commitment to wildlife conservation make our work possible. Together, we can continue to advance the science of wildlife tracking and contribute to the protection of our planet’s biodiversity.
Stay Connected
Follow us on social media and visit our website for the latest updates and information about our programs and initiatives.
contact@e-obs.de 
+49 (0)89-420016-0 
+49 (0)8153-887 2559 
