User contribution
Ear-Tag Trial with Bighorn Sheep: Energy, GPS, ACC, and Future Potential
28. November 2024
Pioneering Wildlife Tracking with Solar-Powered Ear Tags
At e-obs, innovation drive our mission to deliver state-of-the-art wildlife tracking solutions. Building on our expertise in avian tracking, we recently partnered with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) to adapt our Bird Soar 15g transmitter for use as a solar-powered ear tag in ungulate tracking. The results? Outstanding success that paves the way for future developments.
Goal:
Prove the feasibility of using solar-powered GPS ear tags for large mammals.
Advantages over traditional collars:
- Lower weight, potentially minimizing impact on the animals
- Reduced challenges with fit, especially when neck size is expected to change over time
- Extended battery life powered by sunlight
-
Reduced risk of damaging animal coats
Captive bighorn sheep with the solar-powered ear tag. (credit WGFD)
Collaborative Effort:
- e-obs provided two transmitters for trials on captive bighorn sheep at the Tom Thorne/Beth Williams Wildlife Research Center in Wyoming.
- WGFD designed 3D-printed holders to deploy the transmitters as ear tags.
- Tests explored different programming configurations: GPS fixes every 5 minutes during daylight, 24/7 collection, and ACC-informed GPS collection.
e-obs transmitter in a 3D-printed holder attached to a bighorn sheep’s ear. (credit WGFD)
User Contribution:
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department played a pivotal role in the project:
- Conducting rigorous field tests at the Tom Thorne/Beth Williams Wildlife Research Center.
- Designing innovative 3D-printed holders to optimize tag placement.
- Sharing valuable insights into performance and practical applications for large mammal tracking.
- Recording video data to pair with accelerometer readings for advanced behavioral analysis.
Performance Results:
Energy Efficiency: Reliable solar energy intake ensured stable operation throughout the trial.
Durability: Mechanical reliability was confirmed through rigorous field conditions.
Data Success: GPS fix rates exceeded 98%, providing high positional accuracy.
(credit WGFD)
Accelerometer Insights: High-quality ACC data validated the usability of ear-mounted tags.
Data-plot Bighorn Sheep (Firetail)
ACC data visualization showing alternating activity and rest phases. (credit WGFD)
This validates the proof of concept and provides a strong platform for future development!
Challenges and Next Steps:
- UHF Transmission: Current limitation—animals need to be located for downloads.
- Remote Communication: Development of remote communication options is underway to improve data accessibility.
- Ear Tag Design: A dedicated ear tag for ungulates is in development, focusing on durability and functionality
- Behavioral Analysis: Integration with Firetail software to merge recorded video data with ACC readings, enabling advanced behavioral analysis and deeper insights into animal behavior.
Behavioral Analysis:
Importing the ear-tag data in Firetail (https://www.firetail.de) allowed for an interactive inspection of the embedded sensors. We employed Firetail’s FireSOM algorithm for an initial clustering of activity categories based on the accelerometer data.
The resulting predicted categories were then used in combination with our newly devised module for video synchronization (VideoSync). This allowed us to import available video footage and inspect it rapidly, and in sync with the GPS location, sensor outcome, and activity patterns.
Linking video evidence to the predictions and raw data is ongoing and will ultimately lead to video-based annotations that help us evaluate predictions and to understand acceleration patterns in terms of animal behavior.
Firetail_videosync-eartags
Contact Researcher:
For specific questions about the trial or collaboration: Eric Newkirk Principal Wildlife Biologist Wyoming Game and Fish Department O: 307-721-2918 | C: 307-760-2693 | eric.newkirk@wyo.gov
Contact Firetail:
Tobias Petri, thp@firetail.de
Web: www.firetail.de
contact@e-obs.de 
+49 (0)89-420016-0 
+49 (0)8153-887 2559 
