Los Angeles Zoo debuts new wildlife tracking station
Scientists are learning more about bat, bird and butterfly migration thanks to the Los Angeles Zoo's newly expanded Motus Wildlife Tracking Station.
The station is situated in the six-acre restoration area around the zoo. Chris Spurgeon from the Pasadena Audubon Society installed the four new antennas aimed at enhancing researchers' ability to track the migratory patterns throughout the year.
"This is not something that is directly benefiting the lions and tigers you see at the zoo, but is helping the world of animals in general," Pasadena Audubon Society spokesperson Chris Spurgeon said.
LA Zoo conservation director Jake Owens said the station interacts with tiny radio transmitters tagged onto the animals and hundreds of thousands of cell phone towers. Spurgeon said the scientific community and the public can sift through the data and analyze it.
"We thought it was really important for us and the work that we are doing to save species," Owens said.
The Motus system has been around for roughly a decade and has provided more information about migratory than what's been collected in the last century.
"We recently, because of Motus, discovered stopping spots that we never knew existed," Spurgeon said. "Therefore, we discovered places that are very important to protect that we had no idea of. The more we learn about the details, the better equipped we are to help these animals out."
