Vehiclepath

Because they can threaten humans when they feel threatened themselves, tigers and mountain lions need all the friends they can get.

One of their best friends these days is Russian President Vladimir Putin. He not only has his own website that tracks a rare Amur tigress in Siberia, but he also knows how to fit a GPS tracking collar on the big cats. The collar uses technology like that found in GPS fleet tracking to learn about the animals’ territory and migration habits. Putin personally used a tranquilizing gun on the Amur, which was caught in a trap but trying to break free, posing a potential threat to visiting journalists. He then put the collar on her to track her movements.

More than 5,000 miles away in Davenport, California, researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz, are undertaking the first-ever attempt to track the region’s mountain lions. The Bay Area Puma Project also uses GPS tracking collars on the cats, which are seen more frequently in the urban areas that are spreading into the region’s wildlands.

The team is tracking their behavior and movements in the Santa Cruz Mountains for the next three years. Data transmitted via the GPS collar includes mating habits, favored prey, survival needs and travel routes. In the collar is an accelerometer – somewhat like the motion sensor in an iPhone — that helps researchers plot movements such as running, stalking, pouncing and mating.

GPS fleet tracking doesn’t get quite that personal, but it does let you monitor vital data such as vehicle speed, idle time, routes driven and stops made. And you don’t have to tranquilize anyone to install it (although it has caught some drivers asleep at the wheel).

Tags: GPS animal tracking, GPS fleet tracking, GPS Fleet Tracking Benefits, GPS tracking device, GPS tracking unit

Filed under: Animal Tracking, GPS Tracking -Other Uses, GPS fleet tracking by Glenn