Wireless Technology Helps Israel Nature & Parks Authority Monitor and Protect Vultures
The Israel Nature & Parks Authority (INPA) is using PowerG™technology from Visonic Ltd., Tel-Aviv, Israel, a developer and manufacturer of wireless home security and safety systems and components, to enable research that will help protect the griffon vulture population in Israel.
Sadly, the population of the griffon vulture in Israel has been rapidly declining. Only a couple of hundred birds remain in the wild. This dramatic decline has been caused mainly by the massive and uncontrolled use of pesticides that result in poisonings, and well as through ill-treatment and accidental electrocution. Moreover, many important aspects of the vultures’ demography and feeding habits are not fully understood. This knowledge is crucial to implementing proper management measures. As a result, the INPA initiated a research program to monitor and observe the vultures' behavior and activities. The hope was that the collected research data on the vultures' feeding and mating habits would provide clues to ensure the vultures' survival and shed light on the mystifying population decline.