Deercam TV project
The University of Missouri-Columbia says it has developed a wireless video camera that's placed on a deer's head to see how it behaves away from humans.
The project -- funded by the National Science Foundation -- is designed to give researchers a better understanding of how deer perceive each other and possibly provide information concerning chronic wasting disease.
Josh Millspaugh, assistant professor of natural resources, and Zhihai He, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and colleagues mounted the tiny, unobtrusive video cameras they developed on male and a female white-tailed deer.
The researchers have collected 200 hours of video showing feeding, bedding, mutual grooming and breeding activities, as well as recording sparing matches between antlered deer.
"Until now we have had to use remote techniques such as radio transmitters or Global Positioning System collars to study wildlife behavior, but with (those methods) we still do not see what the animal sees," Millspaugh said.
"Not seeing what the animal sees limits our inferences," he added. "We don't see what the animal is doing and why. Knowing that 'why' is critical to our understanding."
Copyright 2005 by United Press International
