Infrared technology being used at Louisville Zoo to track health of wild animals
New research is underway at the Louisville Zoo that may one day be used to monitor the health of wild animals.Scientists from the Cincinnati Zoo are using thermal technology to track animal health without even touching them. The infrared camera picks up the thermal energy coming from an animal.Caroline Rzucidlo with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute is working with Cincinnati Zoo scientist Erin Curry to test infrared technology on 50 different species at the Louisville Zoo."Coming here to Louisville, we have been able to access some animals that we haven't yet imaged, so we've done some seals and sea lions and polar bears," Curry said. "We have a whole other bunch of critters on the agenda for later on today and tomorrow."They're testing remote infrared thermography called FLIR, or Forward Looking Infrared. It's been used to measure heart rate and body temperature in humans, and now they're using it to assess animals from a distance.Researchers said it's the first time it's being used to evaluate threatened and endangered species."We're taking images and videos concurrently with the stethoscope measurements and then when I take them back to the computer, I analyze the videos and I make sure that the pulsation rates that we're picking up on the camera are the same as what's being shown on the stethoscope," Rzucidlo said.The team's goal is to confirm the technology works so they can track the health of zoo animals before using it on wild populations."If we can figure out a way to get this technology to work completely non-invasively, we could fly a drone over wild populations of animals, we could access their body health by counting their heart rate, respiratory rate and body temperature, and also ultimately calculate their body mass," Curry said. "And by combining all that data and looking at populations from year-to-year, we can better assess the health of that population."The researchers are looking specifically at the seals at the Louisville Zoo to see how their blubber will affect the thermal imaging.The Louisville Zoo is the second zoo to participate in the program.
New research is underway at the Louisville Zoo that may one day be used to monitor the health of wild animals.
Scientists from the Cincinnati Zoo are using thermal technology to track animal health without even touching them. The infrared camera picks up the thermal energy coming from an animal.
Caroline Rzucidlo with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute is working with Cincinnati Zoo scientist Erin Curry to test infrared technology on 50 different species at the Louisville Zoo.
"Coming here to Louisville, we have been able to access some animals that we haven't yet imaged, so we've done some seals and sea lions and polar bears," Curry said. "We have a whole other bunch of critters on the agenda for later on today and tomorrow."
They're testing remote infrared thermography called FLIR, or Forward Looking Infrared. It's been used to measure heart rate and body temperature in humans, and now they're using it to assess animals from a distance.
Researchers said it's the first time it's being used to evaluate threatened and endangered species.
"We're taking images and videos concurrently with the stethoscope measurements and then when I take them back to the computer, I analyze the videos and I make sure that the pulsation rates that we're picking up on the camera are the same as what's being shown on the stethoscope," Rzucidlo said.
The team's goal is to confirm the technology works so they can track the health of zoo animals before using it on wild populations.
"If we can figure out a way to get this technology to work completely non-invasively, we could fly a drone over wild populations of animals, we could access their body health by counting their heart rate, respiratory rate and body temperature, and also ultimately calculate their body mass," Curry said. "And by combining all that data and looking at populations from year-to-year, we can better assess the health of that population."
The researchers are looking specifically at the seals at the Louisville Zoo to see how their blubber will affect the thermal imaging.
The Louisville Zoo is the second zoo to participate in the program.
Gloss