Africam leads the way toward reduction in global warming

Africam management have announced that there will be some down time experienced whilst new infra-red thermal cameras are installed at Nkorho Pan and Elephant Plains.

This work is scheduled to start around 2^nd April 2010.

The installation of these new cameras heralds an exciting new phase of live camming.

These cameras record the movement of animals by tracing their heat signatures. Thus when an animal visits the waterhole, it also leaves warm footprints. This is a great breakthrough as it allows viewers who have just missed a critter sighting, to see where the animals have been and what they have missed.

To add to the importance of this new technology in the bush, the tracks left will be recorded by a team of behavioural scientists from a coalition of South African Universities.

The resulting statistics will be analysed in an effort to establish the night time relationships, interspecies competition and the movements of animals through the dense bush.

Also as part of this research, the scientists will be tranquillising passing herds and solitary elephants in order to attach gel pads to the base of the elephants' feet. As the elephants wade into the waterholes, the gel absorbs 60% it's weight in water, thus cooling the elephant's feet. As the targeted animals move through the bush, it is hoped the water will substantially cool their tracks. The amount of cooling can of course be monitored by the new cameras.

If the experiment works then all animals in the Sabi Sands area will be fitted with the gel pads. It is envisage that if this practice becomes standard throughout the continent, then the resultant cooling of the bush and savannah areas in Africa will play a huge part in reducing global warming.

To give you a better idea of how these Cameras will work and what the critter tracks will look like at night please follow this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ-8yFgWt-c

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