Wildlife ACT Innovations is a new wildlife tracking technology company that is using over 32 years of field-proven technology combined with on-the-ground conservation and wildlife monitoring experience to deliver world class tracking and telemetry products for the environmental sector.
Wildlife ACT, a leading conservation NGO in South Africa, has been monitoring and supporting threatened species management for over 12 years, shaping the technologies to best suit the species and the science of tracking. AWE Telemetry Systems was founded in 2003 and has designed and developed technology specifically for use in wildlife telemetry. From Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design and manufacture to Firmware and UX, everything is done in-house and is proudly South African.
AWE Telemetry Systems and Wildlife ACT have been combining their telemetry solutions to produce tracking collars since 2017 and have now partnered on a joint venture that consolidates each organisation’s prodigious wealth of experience.
Africa has over 400 known species of endangered animals. Tracking wildlife and monitoring endangered species is an essential and critical step in their conservation. Applying new and improved tracking technology to conservation practice offers a comprehensive and real-time insight into wildlife biology, which provides innovative and novel information required for effective species conservation management.
“Wildlife ACT Innovations uses the most reliable and cost-effective technology that is tailored to every deployment situation. Whether using a bespoke, managed Sigfox or LoRa Network to backhaul telemetry data, or one that offers bi-directional Global coverage, such as the Iridium Satellite Constellation, we are able to make and fit the best possible solution for you and your organisation.” Jason Tarr, Wildlife ACT Innovations Director.
Wildlife ACT Innovations have experience in a wide range of animal tracking devices/products that include collars for small (e.g. serval), medium (e.g. wild dog) and large animals (e.g. elephant), as well as harnesses for birds (e.g. vultures), horn implants, pods and collars for rhinoceros and other sensors to record temperature and activity measurements in real time.
“The fine-scale data provided by new age tracking technology has allowed us to better understand many aspects of wildlife biology, all of which is crucial when implementing effective conservation management. We are now able to collect information that was previously unavailable and this new improved technology provides in-depth insight into movement behaviour, habitat utilisation and survival rates. Furthermore, the improved live update function offers significant support to combating poaching and mitigating against human wildlife conflict”. Chris Kelly, Director of Species Conservation - Wildlife ACT.
