On New Year's Eve, a wild sow fell asleep shortly after consuming some curiously ready-made food it came across in the woods, the meal largely unmarred by what may have felt like an insect bite. When the animal came to, it had become the first of its species to be equipped with a GPS mobile tracking device.
The GPS-GSM collar was placed on the tranquilized sow in the Kilingi-Nõmme hunting district south of Soomaa National Park.
Game monitoring staff said the process went smoothly. The device will provide updates on the animal's location every two hours and will help researchers understand the effect of supplemental feeding on the selection of habitat and movement patterns. It will also determine the effect of supplemental feedings on raccoon-dogs and the impact of boars and raccoon dogs on birds that nest at ground level, including protected species such as the capercaillie.
Up to five wild boars will be tagged in this manner. The use of the technique is a first in the Baltics.