With wolf populations on the rise in Europe and the high cost of maintaining sheepdogs, shepherds will soon be receiving SMS messages from a high-tech sheep collar when in danger. This collar is based on indoor heart rate monitors used by athletes and elderly people and is being developed by Swiss scientist, Jean-Marc Landry. Early prototypes were tested in the Bernese Alps on 12 sheep who were exposed to a simulated attack involving two muzzled Czechoslovakian wolf dogs, causing the sheep’s heart beat to rise from 60-80 to 225 BPM.
The collar, from which the distressed heartbeat can be detected, could then be fitted with a mobile chip which alerts the shepherd by text message. A final prototype will be ready for testing next year and could include features such as a wolf-repellent chemical spray or a loud noise to scare creatures away.
Photo Source: geinvestigations.com
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