Conservation Group Adopt GPS/GSM-based Collars

A conservation group based in Kenya has adopted GPS-based collars to
enable them effectively monitor their project named Save the
Elephants. The project was inaugurated following the need to save
elephants' lives in Kenya from extinct. Elephants have been reportedly
competing with space and habitat with the farmers who also need the
space for shelter and farming in some parts of Kenya.
The group has been using live tracking technology since 1995, however,
it has recently switched out RF tracking collars in favor of GPS-based
collars, and this may not be unconnected to the dispensability of the
GSM technology and partly base on the fact that GPS technology has
proven to be effective when it comes to tracking.
With the collar attached around the elephant's neck, the group is able
to monitor elephants' movement using the Google Earth in the device
from the Tracking data supplied. This has been said to be very
effective because the detailed knowledge of Elephant movements has
enabled researchers to examine the routes used by elephants in moving
from one part of their range to another. An article in the U.K.
newspaper The Sun illustrates the kind of impact Save the Elephants is
having with its GPS collars.
The group has amassed a comprehensive database totaling more than
2,000 elephant days across various national parks since 1996. The
information is used by managers in developing land-use plans to
establish protected corridors and minimize conflict with surrounding
communities. It notes that at the 5th World Parks Congress in
September 2003 it received tacit confirmation of its approach; the
Congress declared the importance of corridors in planning for
meta-populations of animals and the need to integrate local people and
unprotected areas with national parks and wildlife agencies in
management planning and conservation.
The organization currently has more than 80 GPS collars deployed on
elephants in Africa; some of those also use VHF or satellite
technology to broadcast location coordinates.