World Wildlife Fund

Robin Naidoo
© Greg Stuart-Hill, WWF-LIFE

Robin Naidoo, a conservation scientist in WWF's Conservation Science program, returned from two weeks in the wilderness of Namibia's Caprivi Strip - a long, narrow band of Namibia that runs east-west between Botswana, Angola and Zambia. Get a first-person account of what it takes to capture, collar and release large African mammals - including buffalo, sable and impala. Read about his near-misses, helicopter chases and other adventures in conservation science.

Part 2: Tracking Collar Basics

GPS satellite collars used during expedition.
© WWF / Robin Naidoo

We are using two different types of tracking collars on this trip: radio and GPS (Global Positioning System). The radio collars are based on older technology and transmit a radio signal of known frequency. To pick it up and locate the collared animal you need a receiver tuned to the right frequency, good reception and a lot of hard work. Usually that means getting to higher ground or better yet - airborne in a plane or helicopter. Radiotracking technology has been around for decades and is a proven means of tracking wild animals for projects that don't have huge levels of resources or cutting-edge technological know-how.

Radiotracking receiver and antenna.
© WWF / Robin Naidoo

The GPS collars use a newer technology and come in cellphone and satellite versions. Both use the GPS satellite system to accurately locate a position anywhere on the earth's surface to within a few feet (this is the same system that you might be using in your car or to navigate out in the woods). Cellphone GPS collars transmit locations - taken every five hours - via the cellular network to a website. Satellite collars send GPS locations to the web with Argos - a different privately owned satellite system. Both are capable of active data uploading for near real-time wildlife tracking.

Most of the GPS collars we are going to use are satellite models because we were unsure of how good and reliable the cell network is in these fairly remote areas. This is the first time that GPS collars of any kind are being used on buffalo in Namibia.