Throughout this month we are continuing to gather data from a combination of experimenting with LED lights and using the sound lure at deployment site one. We are collecting data from this site and also an alternative site where we have a Timms trap deployed but no additional devices. Currently since we have begun this trial at the LED/lure location we have had five activations of the trap this month (two activations of the trap and three captures) and three activations at the non sound lure location (two captures and one activation of the trap). We have recorded 72 different animals (brush tailed possums, rats and a cat) at the location with the camera/lights/lure. Due to three nights of rain we have not deployed the technology at this point (although the traps themselves have remained in place)
We have recorded HD video of the interactions between the possums and the LED/sound lure. The general trend that we have experienced over the past few months is continuing - that is that we are seeing interaction with the noise, and a lesser extent the LED lights, but limited aversion to either. There is a darker brush tailed possum which is frequently the location - he seems particularly trap shy as he will put his head into the Timms but almost instantly pulls it out again.
This video below is our first 'triple' when the possums are all alive (we have in the past had three possums but two were interacting with a third dead possum) recorded in Kapuni, New Zealand. We have a file of HD footage of the sound lure project if anyone would require a copy of any of the data you are welcome to drop us a message to obtain the information.
The current phase of testing can be summarised as follows:
Sunday 24th October - Saturday 30th October - Sound lure operating in conjunction with a range of sounds from the traditional profile (stoat, rats, distressed rabbit). Significant activity in the area including repeated interaction with the trap station with lure operating. Up to five visits a night with significant time spent at the location almost exclusively with brush tailed possums.
Sunday 31st October- Thursday 4th November - Sound lure operating making a range (five) of brush tailed possum sounds playing at a one minute interval. Significant activity in the area including repeated interaction/return visits to the site and trap station area with lure operating. Some evidence of animals leaving the area at speed but based on the time stamps and basic animal identification these animals returned shortly afterwards. Animals present included a mother and baby and several adult males all of whom remained on site for extended periods of time.
Friday 5th November - Wednesday 10th November - pest removal phase during a five night period four brush tail possums were removed at the location. There was a fifth activation where there was clear evidence of a possum having sprung the trap but managed to avoid being caught. Due to technical errors with the trail camera last recordings took place on Thursday 4th November (moisture) however still photos taken the following morning. The morning of the 10th the lure was operating but there was no evidence of interaction and the bait was not removed.
Thursday 11th November - Saturday 13th November - We left the Timms trap at the site but removed the sound lure due to the weather conditions and to see what would be happening. The trap was baited with apple (as it had been since Friday 5th). During this period there were no activations at the trap location or evidence of the bait being taken, and the site remained static.
Sunday 14th November - Overnight we replaced the sound lure for the first time in three nights (which had the same apple bait since the 10th). When we observed the site the following morning the trap had been sprung, the apple had been pulled from the trap and had been significantly eaten. As there was no camera monitoring the site (as there hasn't been since the 4th) there was no direct evidence of what had occurred but it seemed clear that a possum had been in the area.
The stoat box, with salted rabbit meat has been static the entire time. We now have in our possession cameras in which we will be able to use to monitor the site and record footage of what is occurring and we indeed intend to at the first available opportunity (ie weather permitting).
I feel compelled at this time to again issue a disclaimer about this testing. This phase of testing is being conducted at a single site a short distance from a location where I live. It is not intended to be scientific with comprehension proof of what is happening it is merely a record of what is occurring at the moment and I am well aware the variables that are being used are very basic (and there is no alternative). It is very much conducted by a non scientific teacher in spare time. If you would like to conduct testing using the equipment an the sound lure we have units available for use, please get in contact with myself via the blog.
This is currently an extremely active series of captures at deployment site one using a Timms Possum Trap modified with the sound lure at the back, and the speaker connected directly to the back of the possum trap. Concerns that the noise might be too loud and acting as some form of deterrent can, we believe be put to rest as at this location we have had the fourth possum capture in the past five nights.
It has been five nights since the modified trap was placed in the location, replacing previous lures that were used to monitor the level of possum activity in the area.
The five tracks currently in use and all generic possum sounds, played at one minute intervals by the solar powered sound lure which has been operating with its technical components outside for two years. We have now caught three males and a female at this location since Friday.
There is also been clear evidence with this capture of additional possum activity following the capture as another animal has been present to pull fur from the deceased animal.
Again we have seen evidence of this repeatedly during the monitoring of the sites where we have had captures of an animal and then additional animals have arrived at the site to attack the dead animal, which we have seen both in possums and rats.
The sound lure has continued to operate after the capture of the animal and continue to generate a sound profile with the potential to bring other animals into the area. There is the possibility of combining the trap with a self setting device to look at seeing if multiple animals could potentially be trapped.
This is the fourth consecutive night of a strike on the Timms that is operating in conjunction with the sound lure. Over the last four nights we have caught now two males, a female and had a third strike where the animal escaped.
This site shows the unit which was pulled from the ground during the capture, the sound lure is under the plastic container which is on the top of the stoat box (which has still not had a strike in a month).
There was no evidence of interference with the possum after it was caught and the bait from the trapping was still visible inside the trap. All other details about the capture such as the programme (coding) and unit details are correct and similar to other posts in this series from this week. Weather has remained fine during this period. This is currently the most successful run at this location over the past two years, although we have successfully used a range of traps at this location.
As noted previously we have started to experiment specifically with HD video and the sound lure to determine what specifically brush tailed possums might be reacting to with the sounds from the sound lure.
It has been suggested that the sound lure, while designed to attract pest animals to the site of traditional traps could be instead acting as a deterrent to cause animals to avoid the location. For the previous week and a half we have been deploying a HD Camera to help us answer this question and using a basic analysis of the video to note the response of the animals when the unit activates. During this time we have seen clear evidence of multiple visits to the site during the evening by a number of brush tailed possum. There has been a mother and a baby and at least two distinct males returning to the site. The unit has played repeatedly during this time and there have been up to eight activations in a night.
Previously we have not focussed on attempting to trap any possums at this location - we have simply been trying to determine if we can answer the question and test or note their reaction to the sound being activated (as noted it is on a one minute delay). The sound lure was previously located inside of the DOC200 (see picture) however we for the first time switched it to placing it inside a Timms possum trap. We used an electric drill to make an opening in the back of the Timms, which the speaker was directly attached to unit - this had the effect of acting to amplify the sound considerably.
Rather frustratingly the trap work perfectly. The frustrating part of this was that the camera that was monitoring the unit did not. We made a capture at the location of a significant male (buck) possum.
There was additional evidence of a further possum attack - which we have repeatedly seen, where a dead possum has been attacked by a second possum as there was ripped fur around the capture, again this frustratingly was not recorded as the camera was not able to record it.
Once again I feel compelled to point out that this is a single location where we are merely testing our equipment to get it to the point that we can be confident that it is operating as we intended. We would like to make the technology and the experience that we have had available for wider use and the data and information likewise.
Back to the original question that we are currently focussed on answering. We have had multiple activations at our site over an increasing period of time. We have had some limited evidence of possums leaving the site when the unit activates, however in every case we can then see them return and we are having multiple visits during the course of an evening.
Obviously we have to look at our capture rate with the Timms trap, but one would suggest the fact that a capture was made, and at least one additional possum was present (as evidenced by the fur from the first possum) and again this would suggest that the lure is not acting as a deterrent.
Moving forward we will continue to monitor the site and look at adjust the camera footage recording so that it operates successfully. We are not going to simply upload hours of footage that we already have showing the lure/possum interactions as we have already done with some parts, however that is available on request.
As we wrap up the brush tailed possum part of the project we have looked and discussed ways of interpreting the data that we have gathered and further refining our recording. One aspect that we looked at during the project was recording specific data about the number of animals that were arriving at the location where the units were deployed and comparing this against non lure location. We intended at some point to look at video evidence but wanted to complete other parts of the project first.
We have recently begun the HD Video gathering of data at locations that we have access to, with the purpose of viewing exactly what is happening with the animals that are interacting with the sound lure, and one question that has constantly been raised is if the lure itself is acting as a deterrent to the animals (that is, it is scaring the animals away as has been suggested).
We have returned to deployment site one, once again as it is easily accessed from our current location and meets the criteria set out within COVID 19 Lockdown restrictions. We have returned to using the original lure, the last of the remaining five original units that were built. This has not been significantly reconfigured since it was built (other than some minor adjustments) and is still operating - two years later with the same battery, water proofing etc. It is currently set to a day/night profile with the intention of it focussing on a stoat that is known to be in the area, however it is also operating with the five sound profiles (stoat, rat, distressed rabbit, rat, chick) to see what reaction it would create.
Previously at this location we have seen evidence of brush tailed possums, rats, mice, domestic cats, feral cats and hedgehogs. There has been a stoat (confirmed sighting) once, earlier this year (but not photographed).
On the first night of the HD video input a rat climbed over the unit and disappeared, this was not during the time that a sound was activating (the sound profile is on the default of one minute depending on the relative battery charge).
On the second night there was significant activity. The site was visited repeatedly by a brush tailed possum. When the footage from the site was reviewed, the audio revealed clearly that the unit operated on a minimum of three occasions when the possum was present and this did not adversely affect its behaviour - other than showing interest in where the noise was coming from.
The entire footage from the night of activations includes the possum repeatedly returning to the site and also interacting with the trap. The unit is contained within a DOC 200 there is no way for the possum to enter the trap as it is designed for a stoat - and it contains salted rabbit within, instead of peanut butter or something that potentially the possum would target to consume.
For the purpose of raw data we would describe the same possum at the location for simplicity.
A brush tailed possum was at the site at 10:26pm, returned at 10:42pm, was active particularly from 11:26pm until 11:54pm (with a total of nine seperate interactions), returned again at 1:00am, at 1:18am and appeared for a final time between 1:34am and 1:36am. There were seventeen total activations that occurred, on a ten second timer.
While this is very basic data from a single night - one would suggest that if a possum is returning to the site on seven seperate occasions (or of course multiple possums are visiting the site) the possums when present are involved in other activities (for instance what was not recorded was the possum wrecking the sound lure deployment by jumping over the device) it is not being deterred by the sound lure. It is showing interest in the unit and remaining on site to take food, including showing interest but not fleeing or showing signs of panic when the unit is operating.
We of course will be refining the lure by using brush tailed possum sounds to determine the activation shortly and identifying and reporting on this data. The full video of activations from the night is featured below, please note this location is adjacent to a river, hence the sound in the background.
Please note: this monitored activity is taking place during a national Covid-19 Level Three lockdown, it is within close walking distance (deployment site one) of a residential house. There was no violation of the lockdown rules.
While we have been continuing to monitor the effectiveness of the possum targeted sound lure, in preparation for our final deployment and we are continuing see strong results (with only a small fraction of the images capture being posted here) we can also now confirm that stoats are in the main deployment area (location one).
After two years of tracking stoats, including a close encounter when a ferret walked into school and came up the ramp to a classroom and was seen peering in the door window, there was this morning a verified stoat sighting in the area adjacent to the main possum testing area. In the photograph on the left on the ledge that is immediately above the river a stoat was clearly seen making its way along the length of it a nine o'clock in the morning. It could be identified by its colour, shape and there was the tell tale sign of the black tip on its tail. This has meant that a focus has now shifted with an addition DOC200 being placed in the field adjacent to where the stoat was seen with chicken meat and a basic sound lure set up. Once it is possible the site will be upgraded with a targeted sound lure and salted rabbit meat (this is not possible due to movement restrictions). We will also be experimenting with various sound profiles targeting the stoats that we now know are in the area. We have previously used this location as a testing site.
We have just started spring in New Zealand, which is the start of a new season and crucially a new stoat hunting season, as we know stoats are hunting during this time for their kitts.
Also of note are a series of images from last night, again showing considerable interest in the sound lure as opposed to the bait that is in the general area. The brush tailed possum in these series of photos can be clearly seen crouching down to observe or interact the rat box (which is where the sound lure is operating from) it is doing so at the time that there is a variety of food items placed around the location of the trap. The possum is not feeding on the food it is instead clearly concentrating on the sound.
While we are currently in a national lockdown we have limited sound lure testing in progress. We are collating the data and information as we continue to modify and test the viability of various units. This morning when checking a deployed camera there was a series of images that require explanation as they are quite striking.
In the first image in the series we can see a brush tailed possum approaching deployment site one. There is an object that is visible just outside the rat box, when looking closely at the trap box you can see that the trap itself has not been sprung which would suggest that it is not a rodent, which is what originally was suspected, outside of the trap but another object which has ended up by the trap.
In the second sequence photo the possum can clearly be seen with this object in its mouth while it is in the area of the trap. Again while we originally thought that the object could potentially have been a trapped rat and that the possum was feeding on this, a close examination of the photo shows that the t-rex rat trap has not been sprung which shows as evidence that it must be another object that the possum is carrying.
The third photo in the series which has occurred five minutes after the first shows the deployment site after
the possum has finished with it.
This is typical of the interaction that we have seen of the brush tailed possum with the sound lure and in the sound lure area. We see the objects like the rat box moved around which typically have been jumped on by the possum or knocked over in an attempt to investigate them further. The lures themselves when not protected can be moved and wrecked, knocked over and pulled out (although we have had minimal unit damage and it is usually a case of physically resetting the trap area and the trap set up and putting everything back in place).
We will refine the trail cameras settings to increase the frequency of the photographs.
Note: We are currently in a national lockdown under level four restrictions - this monitoring is occurring at a private location which is next to a residence so no lockdown rules have been violated in carrying out this testing.
In the third night of revised volume levels we have again seen an elevated level of activity at deployment site one. This has been amongst some of the highest 'Winter' activations at the location in the past two years. There has been numerous brush tailed possum visits to the site (three seperate occasions) large rodent activity (a rat that would be unable to access the rat box based on its size as it would not be able to fit into the trap area and various mice, including one that activated the trap). The first activation shown left is of a brush tailed possum which has accessed the site, but not interacted any further with the location, it can be seen above the lens of the trail camera and is on the tree opposite the traps, as its fur can be seen above the camera.
The first set of activations at the site start at 10:00pm and last for over ten minutes and include twenty six activations (photographs) of the brush tailed possum. Typical of the last view days the interest shown by the possum seems based around the sound lure unit, the small rat box, and it is not paying attention to the Timms trap which is immediately to the right as shown in the photograph.
The third set of possum activations during the night takes place starting at 1:01am and finishing at 1:08am. Again in this brush tailed possum activity shows a repeat of what we have seen over the last few nights, the interaction is taking place with the unit, which is a baited rat trap, while the Timms trap, which is baited with pineapple is not interacted with. The brush tailed possum climbs over the unit, looks inside and around it, while not investigating the other trap.
The final set of activations occur from 1:36am to 5:15am and rodent based activity - including a number of large rat photographs. This location is adjacent to a river, and the rat box in use has a chicken wire entrance as opposed to a wooden tunnel, and based on the photographs one would assume that the rat would have some trouble entering the box, although not impossible (there is also a mouse that was trapped at some point during the night at the entrance to the trap although it is not obvious when this occurred). The rats generally spend the time around the sound lure, although there is an interesting photo of it stretching on the Timms trap to give an idea of the size of the rat. There are again numerous mouse photos as well.
In summary three nights of activity at this location have the following to note:
there is an absence of any domestic or feral cat activity, which has dominated this site in the past. The cats have previously shown considerable interest in the lure, although this has lessened overtime (time frame here is two years) including when the lure was first used around the house the cats would interact directly with it, including spending time trying to get into the box etc.
at the present time there have been repeated brush tailed possum interactions with the lure at this site, almost exclusively just the lure while the possum(s) ignores the traditional trap. The possums appear not be scared away by the unit activation (based on the time that they spend at the site and the time that the lure is operating) and remains on site while the unit is activating
rodent activity is also occurring at the site which is not deterred by the unit operating again based on the number of activations that are occurring and the operating cycle that the unit is running.
We have recently started using a new set up with a slightly more subtle set of sounds, with essentially a smaller speaker (although we can further reduce or set the sound volume level of the speaker and also have it operate at levels depending on the time of day or light level).
Yesterday was the first deployment of new unit and had a considerable number of activations in a single evening. The second night of activations has seen an increased number of activations - and three seperate interactions with a possum/possums during the course of the night. The first possum arrives at the site at 9:46pm - this possum ignores the Tims trap and proceeds to tip over the rat box where the sound lures is located. The possum in this instance is photograph thirty seven times and spends a total of twenty five minutes at the location when the unit is repeatedly activating. The possum interacts almost exclusively with the sound lure and ignores the traditional trap.
The second set of activations occur two and a half hours later. The possum in this instance arrives just after midnight at 12:02am and remains on site for five photographs. Again as with the first instance the interactions are exclusively with the rat box, now tipped over, with the sound lure operating from within it. This possum is present at the site for a shorter duration than the first one and departs again by 12:03am.
The third set of interactions with brush tailed possums occur at 12:55am and lasts until 12:57am. A possum enters the trap area and interacts exclusively with the sound lure, ignoring the traditional trap that is to the right.
Again we wish to stress that this is the first in a range of new testing and the location of the lure immediately next to sound lure is possibly not the most robust science, but there is a clear preference for the brush tailed possum in the instances from the last two days to target and interact with the sound lure trap within the rat box and to ignore the traditional Timms possum trap which is deployed adjacent to it.
We have modified several of the deployed units with the expressed purpose of checking and refining the volume levels of the speakers. While we are currently conducting considerable trials in the effectiveness of the stoat based version of our units (thank you again Feral Control, Taranaki) we are also moving ahead with our brush tailed possum trials.
We have adjusted our speakers recently looking for something that is more subtle, particularly as we are seeing indications that possums are investigating everything and we believe that other animals that we want to target have a range of hearing more specific to a lower sound range.
Our first indications with our new version of the possum lure is again showing promise - on the very first night of trials we have had a sound lure unit, set up inside a rat box with a standard sound profile and had a Timms possum trap with fruit bait. We have had a significant possum interaction with the unit - a brush tailed possum has appeared, spent time interacting with the unit - while it has spent time at the general site by far the most significant interactions have been between it and the sound unit, including repeated attempts by the animal to gain entrance to the box from the front and the back as shown in the photographs above. It has taken fruit left at the site, eaten it, and been active at the site for forty minutes, including climbing over the rat box and investigating it extensively.
We will be monitoring site one again, after a period of a break to determine what will happen with the new profile and how relative it will be for the trials. We are also going to shortly create a specific possum sound lure trap.nz profile/project where we will be placing our results as we more forward with the final phase of our testing.
Please note due to a manual error in the camera setting the incorrect date and time have been displayed in the photographs that were taken overnight. The correct date for the activations was the night of Saturday 10th of July/Sunday 11th of July.
The next variation that we have been trying with the unit is a rainbow LED. This essentially is the sound lure unit with an additional output - a rainbow LED which works in conjunction (at the same time) as the sound.
This is a replacement for the 'feather' motor that was also operating at the same time, as both aspects of the unit additions run from the same location. Recent trials with the 'feather' motor have seen interest from feral cats visiting the unit repeatedly and also to the extent that it pulled the feather from the inside of rat box caging - as detailed on this blog.
The first night of the LED saw some interesting interactions. Firstly the LED was placed inside the rat box this had the affect of creating having the entire box light up when the LED operated with is shower of colour. Furthermore there was repeated visit from large rats to the site. In each case the rats can be seen showing interest in the rat box with the LED and ignoring or showing no interest in the DOC 200 which is baited with rabbit (it should be also noted that the rat box with the LED is baited with a T-Rex with peanut butter, this was not activated during the evening. While this is very much the initial deployment with the set up the potential here seems very encouraging.
As we have done with our test deployment at this site we will continue to monitor the deployment of the unit and notice the interactions that are occurring. We are intending to operate the unit with the LED and the light at present it is the LED only that is operating.
Recent test deployments inside outside buildings (barns) have again produced evidence of the potential for the sound lure to operate to draw animals towards a trap area. In the example shown to the left a student from school has placed a live capture trap in a barn, with the sound lure to the left of the trap.
The brush tailed possum enters the trap, interacts with the food inside the trap, and then leaves the trap to inspect the sound lure, before again entering the trap and this time activating it. We discussed with the student the potential of preventing this from happening by placing the sound lure adjacent to the rear of the unit, so the possum when interacting with the unit would need to spring the trap to gain access to the speaker which appears to be the target of the possums when it is presented to them.
In the second instance of recent note we have began running tests with the robotic arm. Our first series of tests have been using the arm by itself and disconnecting the sound element. The arm is set to operate for randomly lengths of time, when placed inside a DOC 200 it can fit althought it is tight.
Essentially it will operate in tandem with the noise and currently is operating as a feather. The noise will set off and at the same time the motor will turn. In the last week this has been deployed at Deployment SIte One. There has been evidence of some interest from brush tailed possums as shown in the photo although the animals have not tried to interact diretly with the trap, they appear to be observing it from a distance but not as yet engaging with it. We are shortly going to replace the circuit so that it will create the noise as well as the movement to note any changes or additional interactions.
At Deployment Site One we have repeated trialing variations of our Possum Sound Lure. This location is distinct from the data gathering locations where we are maintaining consistent set ups to record the effectiveness of the lures. One of the latest uses is bringing flashing LED lights into the equations
One of the other questions that we have begun investigating is the sound lure acting as a deterrent at locations where it is being deployed, based on the sounds that might be playing and the volume level. Our current set ups are involving 4w/8ohm speakers working in conjunction with the lure.
When viewing recent footage shown by trail cameras monitoring a DOC200 trap there have been less than expected activations at the key site.
We made a decision to return to using a rat box, which considerably muffles the sound - to see if this would have a positive effect on the number of activations as rats were particularly absent from the images. Within the first two days of using the rat box again, after a week of using a DOC200, without general activations, there now have been two consecutive nights with a total of 64 activations, which is more in line for what we were expecting for this time of the year.
In particular of note on the second of two nights there was repeated possum activity targetting the box. From 9:42pm until 1:20am we saw five seperate visits to the location of the box in a series of images from brush tailed possums. One clearly appeared to knock the box over and at least three seperate occasions possums or the possum if singular appear to try and enter the box. This is particularly significant as the trap had peanut butter in it which had been baited the previous week had not been replaced and was not fresh, the only change with the trap was the replacing of the unit inside a rat box instead of a DOC200. We are going to monitor this location over the next few nights to see if the same kinds of activations and details occur and will note it for further reference.
We are starting to experiement with the visual aspect of the lure by using commercially available dog toys. In the case of the image to the left we are starting to experiment with combining a relatively cheap dog toy with a DOC 200. We have further modified the dog toy by inserting the 3D Printed speaker baffle into the chest of the toy. The result has already had activity with feral cats who have interacted with the toy/lure as it is being test deployed.
We have again modified the code of our stoat version of the sound lure with coding to reflect the ability of the battery to produce sound, up to every thirty seconds. In direct sunlight this means that the lure is running continuously during the day and is switching to a second profile activating every minute during darkness. The lure has been placed inside a DOC200 and is being additionally baited with salted rabbit. The speaker being used in conjunction with the set up is a four watt/eight ohms speaker. This has been placed at deployment site one which was next to the possum activated trap, with a distressed cotton tailed rabbit sound. During the course of a week of monitoring at this location there was minimal activations, including rats who normally would either enter or interact with the trap appearing to arrive at the site and leave immediately. While we are conducting further testing a decision was made to move the stoat lure to another location two hundred metres away as it appeared to be that that sound of the distressed rabbit may be discouraging animals from entering the area.
We know from a year of data collection at this location that we would expect during a week considerable rodent activity and likely brush tailed possum activity, so to see neither during the week was a surprise. We have used a DOC200 at this location with salted rabbit and caught a variety of pests using a lure making bird/chick/rat sounds and also successfully caught brush tailed possums at the site using a Timms trap modified with the lure placed at the back of the device. We have also had incidents such as shown in the photo left where a rat has been trapped in rat box and a second rat has appeared and climbed into the possum trap (but not activated it).
In removing the stoat trap and replacing it with the rat box we have seen results more in line with what we would expect to see. Overnight we have had two visits from brush tailed possum, possibly the same animal, an hour apart where it has approached the area, investigated the location (briefly) and then left the area within two to three minutes. Significantly it has done so twice within an hour and the trap is activated soley on the basis of the sound without additional baiting (such as fruit).
The two pictures that are shown are an hour apart and have the brush tailed possum entering the area from a near identical direction, spending a similar time at the location (two to three minutes) then leaving the area from the same direction.
We will continue to monitor this location over the next few days to determine if a possum returns to the location and what eventuates.
As mentioned yesterday combing using the sound lure and a live capture trap, this has already produced results overnight. Monitoring the trap over the last few days we have been aware of increased brush tailed possum activity since the sound lure profile has been switched to a possum sound.
As we been using the Timms Possum traps up until this point a decision was made to deploy a live capture trap in conjunction with the sound lure in an area where possums are clearly operating to see if the lure would encourage the possum to enter the trap. While this is only the first night this combination was tried, this has proven to be the case. A brush tailed possum approached the trap depolyment area and remained around the location for an extended period of time, and appeared to return later to the site.
During this time (a ten minute time frame) the possum approaches the trap location, enters the trap and removes the apple that was placed inside the trap. In normal situations the trap would be trigged by the possum standing on the foot plate, which would then cause the cage to close, trapping the animal inside.
Due to human error the trap mechanism was set incorrectly, which allowed the possum to exit the trap carrying the food that was used to bait it, and then eat the bait. With the trap set correctly, we anticipate that the possum that attempts to repeat the procedure will then be trapped.
Key to this deployment is the issue - of the sound lure attracting the possum but not repelling the possum, as can be deduced from the ten minute timeframe where the possum entered a standard trap and remained in the area (with the one minute delay on the sound lure this would have therefore activated ten times while the possum was in the area).
We have recently been further experimenting with the final deployment set up. We continue to test the solar panels which have now been left out in semi-shade conditions long term - this is showing that the unit is remaining fully charged and operating as expected, despite the fact that it is not in full sun, which was the case with the smaller panels.
Our revised sound profile and speaker combination have meant that the focus for now is very much on the Brush Tailed Possum. We have returned again to the first deployment site to test out these new combinations and again are seeing extremely encouraging result. We are continuing to run long term deployments on two other locations and are about to expand to a third. At deployment site one with the unit in place we are seeing significant nightly brush tailed possum activity - this is something that we have not seen previously at this location.
At present we have had three consecutive nights of possums interacting with the speaker or at the location where the speaker is operating, this is in contrast to the previous twelve months of activity where we have seen possums at a rate of once a fortnight.
We are again seeing evidence of the possums interacting directly with the unit and the speakers themselves. They are currently able to do this because this version of the deployment has the unit seperate from the trap, altough we have already modified our set up to take this into account.
We have also deployed a live capture cage at this location, combining it with the sound lure and intend to monitor how effective this will be.
It is currently the school holidays in New Zealand so the students involved in this project are currently on their summer break. We will return to regular posting and development during January.
While it is only less than a week of results with the new sound profile (which is configured to reflect a target of rodents and mustelids) there already has been developments. Of note is that within a five day period there has been two clear activations on the trial camera by Brush Tailed Possums, suggesting that the sound variation
The fifth day has also had a protracted interaction between the lure and a extremely large rat. Of note the rat spends nearly half an hour in the direct vicinity of the trap (it did not active the trap) venturing towards the trap itself in a series of images.
The possum can clearly be seen in this photograph on the left. The possum was attratcted to the area, but does not spend an extended time in the area.
We will continue with the deployment site and monitor the total results of the lure/camera (which is approaching over 250 animal activations). The domestic cat is still present and still regularly visiting the site.
We are preparing for the first external deployments of the sound lure unit which has been developed since last September in this current form (having being revised several times in terms of coding, unit set up, solar powered plannning etc).
It has always been the intention since the projects inception to make the units, which are extremely cost effective, available for wider trials and experimentation to try and improve their use. As has been noted many times on this blog the units in deployment currently are deployed for the purposes of testing to deal with issues of the units reliability, the battery levels and water proofing. Once we can establish testing zones or areas outside of the current location we can start looking at sounds, frequency of activations of sounds etc and determine the contribution of the sound lures to effective trapping.
Evidence strongly suggests that it works with a range of creatures, but this is documented on a small scale at present and there are also other factors directly affecting the deployment (such as the domestic cat which is clearly is visiting the site each night) and the presence of other animals (the large dog) and cats. There is also the location of the sound lure relative to the river as this is placed in such a location that it near an active part of the river which generates other noise.
Very shortly there is going to be significant developments with the project and also start to expand the deployment. These are taking place at a number of locations throughout the region, with a focus specifically on possums for a major regional project.
There will be a secondary project focussed on other pest animals which will take place at select locations, some of these locations will be external to the Taranaki region where we are based.
Right from the onset of the project we have been interesting in partnering with groups and indidivduals who are actively involved in pest reduction in both our region (Taranaki) and the wider region of New Zealand. While the target was originally going to be stoats there are a wide range of potential for the technology and the set up. If you have not made contact with us yet and would liket to do so at some point for using the technology or working with us can you please email us at myles.webb@gmail.com
The sound lure can be left at a location, in sunlight, and charge and operate independently. It appears at the time of writing (six months) that it was not adversely be affected by weather. It can be programmed in a huge number of ways to reflect a variety of variables based around operating.
We have changed the base profile at the main testing location. The new sound profile has retained the 'chick' sound, which is the day profile. This also features at night four additional sound profiles, rat, field mouse, and two variations of distressed rabbit. These profiles are playing at one minute random intervals from within the inside of the box. The box is currently a standard rat box, with a t-rex plastic trap inside.
Due to testing conditions and activations we have placed a second box next ot the sound lure box. This has two deployed mouse traps, as mice have been responsible for clearing out the traps without setting off the larger trap.
On the third night of this deployment with the new sound profile the brush tailed possum shown in the photographs appears at the trap and tries to interact with it.
Having spent two weeks deploying the sound lure by exposing it to Autumn elements a variation has been made, with the same sound profile, to see what affect that this has on the images.
Cat standing on sound lure box
A second trap box has been deployed adjacent to the first. This is in place with two small mouse traps held inside. There is clear evidence that a small animal is entering the larger tunnel and stripping off the peanut butter that is placed on the larger trap. The animal is such that it is not causing the rat trap to activate, nor the trail camera to detect it as when there is clear evidence that this is occurring (bait is missing) the camera has not deteceted as image, on a twenty second delay. To deter this smaller mouse traps have been placed in the second box, the result of this has seen three small mice being removed from the environment.
The major change is placing the sound lure inside the tunnel box. This has been done to test how this affects interactions with the lure. For the first two nights of this there was two significant differences one which was illustrated in the photographs. On the first night an animal of some description moved the second box one metre or so away from where it was placed. Unfortunately due to human error there was no recording of this event or animal. It would have to be either a possum or a cat (perhaps jumping onto the box).
cat returns to sound lure box
The second nights major activities are highlighted here in the case of the domestic cat.
In a series of photographs the cat can be seen interacting with the box - but in this case climbing over the box (instead of as has been typical with this cat previously interacting around the base of it).
This cat is one of two domestic cats at this location, which also includes a large dog. As has been noted repeatedly on this blog the reason that the testing of the units needs to move away from this location is the factor that these animals are present. The cat shown here is regularly approaching the site where the lure is, either on camera or waiting in the area. There is a direct correlation between the first arrival on camera of the two domestic cats, after five days and a 118 activations of animals (typically rats and mice) to a further twelve days and another 28 activations which are almost exclusively cats. The featured cat has had interactions with the lure over a number of months, since the start of the first trial with the sound lure but is continuing to interact directly with and spend considerable time in the area where the sound lure is deployed. Feral cats are an issue in a number of areas and this would suggest the lure would be useful in attracting them.
In addition to the sound lure trap area at the house/field area nearby there is a further DOC2000 Stoat trap (baited with an egg which has had no activations since being deployed). There is another monitored trap on the property outside with a temperature probe (no activations during this deployment) as well as six internal traps at various locations in either outbuildings or the main house (none of which has recorded any activations during the latest testing phase). The final trap at this location is a live capture trap. This has been deployed baited with fruit over the past three years. It has resulted in the capture of sixteen brushtailed possums, 13 in the first year, two in February of this year within three days and a further capture on Friday. This possum was identified as regularly raiding the compost bin and was targetted for capture with the trap. The sound lure was not used in conjunction with this capture as the sound lure would have been at a location where it would have been clearly heard at the house.
The lure will be delpoyed for another two weeks at this location inside the tunnel. It does need to be pointed out that this tunnel is not custom made for the lure (as will be constructed at some point) it is simply able to fit inside the lure so there has been little thought to acoustic noise, design of the tunnel etc. This is another project for another time.
