Thanks to the team at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, we’re getting a closer look into the technology that is providing help with research of the many behaviors of the park’s Northern Carmine Bee-Eaters.
What’s Happening:
- Dr. Mark Penning, Vice President, Animals, Science and Environment, Disney Parks has shared a closer look at the technology that goes into the monitoring of the breeding and feeding behavior of over 100 birds. That technology all comes from something the size of a single grain of rice.
- At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, scientists have used RFID technology to study more about the breeding behaviors of Northern carmine bee-eaters. Now, they are using this tracking device to learn even more about the behavior of these unique and colorful birds.
- With birds in all shapes and sizes, bird diets can be tricky. Using these RFID bands helps teams monitor how many times the carmine bee-eaters enter their “dining rooms” for a tasty spread of their favorite insects and to keep them healthy.
- Because their necessary diets are nutrient-rich and if they eat wild bugs (the human equivalent of French fries and onion rings) rather than the bugs our dieticians give them, they risk getting full bellies and no nutrients, which is why this technology is especially important.
- The tech gives the animal care team at the park yet another tool to understand the activities, locations, behaviors and responses to training cues with the birds at the park.
- The hope is that eventually other bird species will be included with this research at the park, and the team will continue to learn more about all the unique animals of the park.
- After all, the main goal of the team is to care for their animals, in every aspect of their health, including diets. This technological tool ensures that the group can collect as much information about the animals and their health as possible, especially since Disney’s Animal Kingdom has the largest population of this bird species in any Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited institution.
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