Burmese Pythons have still a strong hold on the Everglades. It is a perfect environment for them and with few predators to take on an adult, they have latched on down there since they were released during the hurricanes decades ago. Now scientists are turning to robots to try to track them, more specifically, robot rabbits.
“Our partners have allowed us to trial these things that may sound a little crazy,” says Robert McCleery, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Florida who’s leading the rabbit project, to the Palm Beach Post. “Working in the Everglades for ten years, you get tired of documenting the problem. You want to address it.”
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In the past, researchers have experimented with placing live rabbits in pens in a bid to attract the invasive serpents in Everglades National Park. The live rabbits were indeed effective at luring the snakes, drawing in about one per week, but caring for and managing the small mammals was labor-intensive. Researchers wondered if robotic rabbits might do the job just as well.
There are a variety of techniques planned to see if this can be more effective. To read more, pop over to Smithsonian Magazine
here.