discussion / Biologging  / 7 September 2020

Drop off pods on collars

Hi all,

I know there are various drop off mechanisms for collars, with time releases, remotely triggered or through wear and tear. However, all of the ones I find (Lotek, Telonics for example) are intended to drop the whole collar. I'm interested in attaching a small pod with sensors to a regular collar. The collar is intended to stay on for 2+ years, but the pod with sensors should drop off, ideally triggered remotely, within a few months. Is anybody aware of devices which can be attached to collars as independent units and drop off?




I see here the Telonics programmable collar release is permanently attached on one side, but releases on the other side. Is there a way to modify it so it releases on both sides? Anybody has experience with that?

https://www.telonics.com/products/collarReleases/#

Hi, thanks for posting this question.

I just wanted to share a note from our experience over 10 years monitoring rhino fitted with radio collars, but this applies to other animals too. When animals put on condition (usually seasonally) the neck widens and collars, even those with elasticity, can cause severe injuries. For this reason and others I would caution that collars should be used only as a short-term measure, if at all.  

Alibhai, S.K. & Jewell, Z.C. (2001). Hot under the collar: The failure of radio-collars on black rhino (Diceros bicornis). Oryx 35 (4), 284-288.

Hi Egil (and others),

I have been struggling with this issue for several years, needing such a module for recording individual forest elephant vocalizations.

I (well, an engineer at the Cornell Center for Conservation Bioacoustics where I am based) looked into the Telonics option. We considered using 2 of these to release an independent strip, with the recording device, from the collar. The locking mechanism on their more robust model is quite strong, so probably could withstand an elephant rubbing against a tree. The advantage of this company is that they can be triggered at will with a radio device (I would never find the unit if it was pre-programmed to release).

Put this project on hold mostly because of no funds to design and manufacture a housing for the recording device and the release devices that could withstand the mechanical forces likely on an elephant. 

 

Oh yes, elephants are hard.  Our initial attempt at this approach w elephants ended with them breaking the stainless steel bolts that anchored the Telonics release to the sat collar.  Subsequently we were able to successfully use the same Telonics releases to drop a Crittercam but had to build a protective structure around the release junction to prevent them from being able to put direct force on that 'weak point'.