LED FlashTags worn by livestock are triggered by movement in the dark, emitting random light patterns that deter predators.
Wolves, bears, cougars, and coyotes are important parts of ecosystems of the West and a pain for people who raise livestock there. Carnivores sometimes prey on cattle and sheep in pastures and on the open rangelands they share, creating a financial burden and emotional cost to ranchers, sometimes triggering lethal removal of the offending animals.
A simple technology shows promise toward alleviating some of that conflict, according to Julie Young, a wildlife biologist from the Utah State University Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, as well as director of the Berryman Institute of Wildlife Damage Management.
The new technology, FlashTags, are motion-activated LED ear tags that can be worn by livestock. The small units are triggered by movement in the dark, emitting random light patterns that deter predators, according to new research in the journal Human-Wildlife Interactions. The tags were primarily developed to deter wolves and coyotes but were tested in places that included other predators, such as mountain lions, black bears, and grizzly bears.
Predators tend to avoid new things, said Young, who led the team that included researchers, ranchers, and land managers. Ranchers already employ plastic flagging attached to fences to frighten predators and protect newborn lambs and calves, but it’s a strategy impossible to implement over hundreds of miles of open rangeland.
Source : osu.edu