By Robert Thompson Science
writer, BBC News, Swansea
9 September 2016
How do you tell if an elephant is
having a good day? Or spy on the nocturnal squid-catching skills of the
albatross?
This week at the
British Science Festival, Prof Rory Wilson of Swansea University has
been divulging the secrets of the animal kingdom, including penguin diving
habits, albatross hunting methods and the emotional states of elephants.
"The problem with animals is
we often want to know things about them that they don't want to tell us or that
aren't easy to find out. The only way to do it is to put something on [the
animal] that will accompany it," Prof Wilson said.
Leaving the bustling hub of the
festival, which has taken over the Swansea campus all week, I was shown into
the nerve centre of Prof Wilson's animal surveillance operation. The room is
dominated by a huge, 2m-by-3m screen displaying all sorts graphs that wouldn't
look amiss in a Nasa control room.
Addressing a crowd of
journalists, Prof Wilson said his work was all made possible by a small
electronic chip his team developed specifically to stalk animals in their
private hours.
This chip contains
accelerometers, magnetometers, pressure, temperature and light sensors -
offering an unprecedented view of an animal's life.
The tag, Prof Wilson explained,
essentially does exactly what our smartphones or fitness monitors do,
continually tracking and recording the wearer's position and movements.
"This is a novel written by
an animal. It's very exciting to be the first person to open that novel."
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