Using three new technologies for conservation

December 30, 2023 10:35 PM

Using three new technologies for conservation. Zoos Victoria has started using MouseSTAT Pulse Oximeter and Heart Rate Monitor to accurately monitor small rodents and marsupials having medical care. The Zoo Emergency Nutrition by Air (ZENA) system was developed by drone manufactures XM2, and allows remote access to wildlife effected by bushfires in order to deliver much-needed food and sustenance when their habitats have been destroyed. "ZENA helps to get out to the site and distribute food efficiently, across a wide area, at a very short notice and at quite a cheap cost, too," Mr Kazi said.

Zoos Victoria has acquired audio recorders, or 'song meters', to help find elusive birds. "Song meters are perfect for locating very cryptic species like the plains-wanderer, because we can't always see them, but if you're in the right place and the right time you can hear them. The female makes a beautiful calling sound to attract mates, " Ms Hartnett said. "These song meters are able to record their calling and this helps us work out how these animals are using the landscape and inform our conservation efforts."

posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (3 comments total)

Thanks for your wildlife posts chariot, I never heard of the plains wanderer, great to hear tech being used wisely, I just wish human society was more animal and less social/ humans are special so we could live with nature.
posted by unearthed at 1:05 AM on December 31, 2023

I wanted to learn more about how the MouseSTAT oximeter works (specifically, how it attaches to the mouse; in the usual way, it turns out), and fortunately the user manual is available online!

The fact that the mouse oximeter user guide uses Calibri and the default Microsoft Word formatting options is a delicious cherry on top.
posted by terretu at 8:31 AM on December 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

for those interested, here's an image of the MouseSTAT in action. (no gore or anything, just a mouse under anesthesia.) it's so interesting!
posted by misanthropicsarah at 2:55 PM on January 2 [1 favorite]