Optimizing device and sensor programmes for monitoring collective behaviour in wild lions

None other than the king of the animals is the model system for the project Optimizing device and sensor programmes for monitoring collective behaviour in wild lions. The researchers Natalia Borrego and Genevieve Finerty aim to study the social grouping and collective behaviour of the lion in South Africa.

Historically, studying lion behaviour in such detail was impossible due to technological and logistical constraints. For example, lion hunts often occur at night and in dense bushland, making detailed observation impossible. In addition, lions spread out over large areas. It is therefore logistically impossible to track their movements across a landscape or collect the type of data needed to understand how they communicate and come together when distributed across a vast landscape.

This project tested multi-sensor devices that have the potential to overcome these challenges. “The loggers we tested in this project are an exciting step forward in the types of data we can collect and the big picture questions we can answer about our study system,” say Natalia Borrego and Genevieve Finerty.

The researchers explain: “As part of our work, we will deploy collars that combine high-resolution GPS, accelerometry, magnetometry, and audio on entire groups of lions.” Right now, they are analyzing the data. They are sure that the data they collected in July 2022 will generate unprecedented insights into collective behaviour at multiple spatial and temporal scales from the fine-scale group hunting behaviour to the broader scale of how lions navigate changing seasons as a group.