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This Missouri white tail was one of two bucks fitted with
wireless video cameras that are giving MU researchers an
up-close and personal view of a deer’s world. Photo
courtesy of Missouri Department of Conservation
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‘Deercam’
Offers Insight Into Deer Life
By Robert Thomas
As deer season begins across much of the country,
thousands of hunters will be taking to the woods, eyes peeled
for that trophy buck. Now a first-of-its-kind study by University
of Missouri-Columbia researchers is allowing some deer to do all
of the looking. The results could provide insight on several wildlife
issues, including deer-vehicle collisions and the spread of chronic
wasting disease.
Josh Millspaugh, assistant professor of natural
resources, and Zhihai He, professor of electrical
and computer engineering at Mizzou, along with other researchers,
have successfully mounted tiny, unobtrusive wireless video cameras
on a male and a female white-tailed deer. The cameras give the
researchers an up-close and personal look of not only how deer
see their world, but how they behave away from the human eye and
how they perceive each other.
So far, the researchers have collected 200
hours of video showing feeding, bedding, mutual grooming, sparing
matches between antlered deer and breeding activities. They believe
these behaviors can help establish patterns and explain how wildlife
diseases are spread.
“Until now we have had to use remote
techniques such as radio transmitters or Global Positioning System
collars to study wildlife behavior, but with these we still do
not see what the animal sees,” Millspaugh said. “Not
seeing what the animal sees limits our inferences. We don’t
see what the animal is doing and why. Knowing that ‘why’
is critical to our understanding. We don’t
know what plants they are eating or how they respond to humans
or other animals.”
The study, conducted in partnership with the
Missouri Department of Conservation,
took place at the Charles W. Green Memorial Conservation Area
near Ashland, Mo. This fenced, 10-acre area contained 11 deer
including three adult males, one male fawn, five adult does and
two female fawns.
The deer were tranquilized and fitted with
battery-run cameras with miniature transmitters. Male deer had
the cameras mounted on their antlers, while female deer wore a
specifically designed neck-mounted camera. The camera angles were
adjusted to view their mouths to better learn what plants they
were eating. Images were collected onto a VHS tape by electronic
signal.
Millspaugh said he was surprised by the degree
of interaction among the deer, noting that they were in constant
contact with each other.
The work also gained the attention of the
National Science Foundation
(NSF), netting a $1 million grant for more advanced studies. Much
of the NSF grant will be aimed at developing smaller, longer lasting,
higher resolution cameras. The cameras will have improved remote
control devices that can adjust camera angles, widening the field
of vision. Plans also call for placing the videos on an Internet
Web site for public viewing.
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Last Update:
November 15, 2007
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