An expandable radio collar for monitoring young terrestrial mammals

Abstract

Although radio collars are widely applied in movement ecology, their use in animals with changing neck circumferences is challenging. We are proposing a model of a simple, cheap, and expandable collar that is suitable for the monitoring of young terrestrial mammals. We tested the collar on young crab-eating foxes. There was no register of injuries caused by the collar to the tagged animals, and they functioned appropriately. Thus, we hope this note will encourage further researchers to use our method to monitor the movement patterns of young animals, not only for canids but also for other species of terrestrial mammals.

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“…Collars must be sized appropriately to minimize interactions with the environment during movement and growth and prevent debris, such as twigs, from becoming lodged in the collars [47]. Collars that expand as animals grow are a helpful tool for avoiding injuries when instrumenting juvenile walkers [49].…”