Thursday, July 21, 2011
Cat-nav research
When confronted with the abbreviation ‘GPS’ (Global Positioning System), you probably think of your sat-nav.
However, one study undertaken by researchers at the University of Reading which began in 2009, uses GPS for an entirely different reason.
To track cats.
Why, you may ask? Well they want to find out how badly our domestic felines are affecting urban birds by monitoring how far a field they travel from home to hunt, amongst other factors.
At the beginning of the study they recruited 200 cats around the Reading, who all happily signed on with a paw print (probably), and attached a little camera and tracking devise to each of their collars.
Now, after several years of going about their mysterious business, the cats’ secrets have been revealed and the study has come to a close.
The team in Reading haven’t yet updated their website with the findings, but suffice to say the cats are likely to be interested to see just how much the humans have managed to deduce from their movements.
Image by eva101 via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: cameras, cats, GPS, Reading, research, sat-nav, track, University
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posted by Fuse @ 4:49 AM 
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