Using a Fitbit and a spy mic, researchers have gained new insight into the behavior of the elusive Canada lynx.
The new study also provides a first look at how miniaturized technology can open the door to remote wildlife monitoring.
“We captured chases, screams of the prey as they were caught, calls of the prey as they escaped, and bones crunching…”
“Working on one of the boreal forest’s top predators, the Canada lynx, we found that two different technologies, accelerometers and audio recording devices, can be used to remotely monitor the hunting behavior of predators, even documenting the killing of small prey,” says lead author Emily Studd, a postdoctoral fellow under the supervision of Murray Humphries at McGill University and Stan Boutin at University of Alberta.