ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK: Tracker project lets one 'read the mind' of pack of wild dogs
The coming together of the sensor networks known as the Internet of Things and the massive information flows we call big data have obvious benefits for industrial and consumer activities, ranging from managing factories to monitoring traffic patterns. Now, this combination could come to the rescue of threatened wildlife. The Endangered Wildlife Trust has embraced the technology for its carnivore conservation programme, and in particular for the Kruger rare carnivore programme, designed to monitor the African wild dog in Kruger National Park. One of the most threatened species in Africa, there are fewer than 500 of the dogs in South Africa. The programme has succeeded in fitting tracking collars, using both GPS satellite tracking and VHF radio transmitters, to at least one animal in each of about 20 wild dog packs roaming Kruger. Last week, the EWT lifted the curtain on the data that drives the project, during the Vodacom Red Wild Dogs tour, co-ordinated by the mobile network operato...
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