'Distressed Rabbit' and a DOC 200: April 2020

We have placed a DOC 200, baited with egg and a small amount of peanut butter in this location, with the sound lure placed on top of the box.   The solar panel is exposed, the 4w speaker has a basic 3D Printed box and the main unit is inside the IP rated box.

This unit, in this location, with this set up will be left outside until from now on.    The location is a general sun location (in Autumn) with currently (April 2020) sun directly charging the unit until 2pm.   With the exception of the tree and the cover created by a boxthorn hedge close to unit it is exposed to the elements and will remain so.    On the other side of the unit is a large paddock which previously held maize and is reverting to grass for winter.    A unit has previously deployed at this location as was detailed in this blog here, as it is Deployment Site Two.

For the first three days at this site the unit was playing a basic 'Distressed Rabbit' profile.   This was powered by the solar unit throughout the day and would last until the evening (typically 8pm with a sunset of 6pm).   As this site has a DOC 200 deployed the sound pattern is specifically aimed at stoats.

Above: Hedgehog April 22nd 2020

Left: April 22nd 2020
Activation from the first night showing a hedgehog (large) in the vicinty of the unit.   The DOC 200 is in the top of the picture, with the bar visible, the camera was placed in an incorrect position.   The animal would have been too large to enter the unit.

By the time that this activation occurred the unit would have been still operating with audio.

Above: Brush Trailed Possum April 22nd 2020

Left April 23rd 2020
Activation from the first night showing a brush tailed possum approaching the unit.   The animal approached but did not interact with the unit, with the increased demand on the unit power with the profile it would have been idle by this point.  Typically we have seen possum interact directly with the sound unit directly including trying to open the box.   This animal would not have been able to enter the trap unit due to size.

The current distressed rabbit profile is worth noting in terms of duration.   This was sourced from a publicly available sound file on Youtube.   The day profile sound has a 26 second sound duration, and the additional tracks of sound are all of similar length, for a total sound play of all five tracks of two and a half minutes.   The general profile which is the standard audio track used up to this point for the trial lure is a chick sound during the day is 8 seconds long and the total of the five general tracks is one minute thirty.   

Based on the unit playing once a minute on random obviously the amount of power draw from 'distressed rabbit' playing once a minute would be in the region of 17 minutes each hour, the chick would be in the region of 7 minutes of audio each hour.    We are conducting considerable testing and evaluation of the power draw relative to the size of the units and the auido that is associated with it.    We will be monitoring the DOC 200 at this site to see the activations that occur at night and the presence of Stoats or rats as these are the two key animals that will be able to enter the trap.   We continue to see evidence of domestic cats consistently being attracted directly to the trap (in this instance this cat is domestic and cannot enter the DOC 200 trap due to the size of the trap relative to the size of the animal).