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Radio Tracking Basics Radio tracking can be a very useful tool to help scientists study animals in the wild. Among other things, radio tracking can help researchers determine a species' home range, population density, and key habitat elements essential for survival, such as places to live. Just about anything can be tracked, and transmitters are made for animals as small as beetles. Biologists have tracked many animals using this method, including wolves, elephants, moose, deer, bats, foxes, rattlesnakes, turtles, raccoons, fish, badgers, seals, and owls, among others. Scientists try to tag and track as many individuals of a given species as they can when learning about a population. When they capture an animal, they document information about its size, weight, and other physical characteristics. When tracking, they record such variables as the time of day, habitat information, and how they located an animal. Scientists usually use a frequency in the very-high-frequency (VHF) band—which comprises the wavelengths between about one yard and 11 yards—to track animals. That's because animals don't naturally emit sounds in any frequencies in that band, and it allows researchers to use a relatively small, hand-held antenna. Radio tracking is not without its problems. It is difficult to tell the exact location of an animal tracked by radio; whenever possible, users make a visual sighting to confirm the quarry's position. Also, many systems will only track for a couple of miles or fail to track at all if the creature slips into a ravine or behind a ridge. In addition, the animal may move after its tracker has determined its initial position. Scientists can also use transmitters to collect information on other variables about an animal, such as temperature, respiration, heart rate, life span in the wild, and causes of death. Track the Fossa Radio Tracking Basics Resources The Expedition | Surviving The Wilds | Explore Madagascar Dispatches | Classroom Resources | E-Mail | Resources Site Map | The Wilds of Madagascar Home Editor's Picks | Previous Sites | Join Us/E-mail | TV/Web Schedule About NOVA | Teachers | Site Map | Shop | Jobs | Search | To print PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH © | Updated November 2000 |