Virtual Fencing Can Help Buffalo Roam and Antelope Play

"Oh, give me a home, where the buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope play," goes the venerable Western folk song "Home on the Range."
Fences strung throughout the western United States to corral cattle and other livestock, however, block buffalo from roaming and restrict the play of deer and antelope. The deployment of virtual fencing may free wildlife to prance unfettered by barbed wire across the vast landscapes of the American West. Ranchers will also benefit from this cheaper and more flexible tool for managing the grazing of their herds.
How does virtual fencing work? "Animals (primarily cattle) wear GPS-enabled collars that emit sound, vibrations, and mild electric pulses to guide their movement to encourage them to stay within—or deter them from entering—designated areas," explains a November 2024 policy brief from the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) in Bozeman, Montana. Virtual fencing software and collars communicate through cell networks, base stations, or satellites.
By one estimate, more than 620,000 miles of fences crisscross the western United States. These barriers present significant challenges to the movement of wildlife such as mule deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and sage grouse. The Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks service has estimated that on average, one ungulate (hoofed mammal such as a deer, elk, or pronghorn) was found tangled for every 2.5 miles of fence. A 2023 study reported that half of radio-collared pronghorn, along with thousands more from the herd, died in deep snow when fencing stymied their migration to warmer pastures.
Livestock are trained for several days to respond to the signals emitted by the collars before being set loose to graze. Ranchers can keep track of the location of each animal, manage their herds, and even encourage them to graze on undesired or invasive species by adjusting virtual boundaries through apps on their cellphones or computers. Virtual fencing can also prevent overgrazing and protect ecologically sensitive areas such as wetlands, riparian zones, erodible soils, and wildlife corridors.
Researchers at Cornell University, with the support of the Bezos Earth Fund, are working to extend the benefits of virtual fencing to farmers and ranchers in low- and middle-income countries. Instead of collars, the Cornell team is developing a rugged small ear tag that incorporates geolocation, behavioral sensors, and boundary-setting stimuli.
PERC has launched a virtual fence conservation fund that will distribute $250,000 to encourage ranchers and conservationists to adopt this technology on public and private lands. Deploying virtual fences that enable buffalo to roam and antelope to play is a win-win for both ranchers and conservationists.
The post Virtual Fencing Can Help Buffalo Roam and Antelope Play appeared first on Reason.com.

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They never thought they could get from Brazil to Texas in a span of less than 40 years," said Allen Szalanski, a professor of entomology at the University of Arkansas. "But they did." The two bee subspecies are impossible to differentiate without either DNA analysis or careful observation of their wing vein patterns. It is their behavior that sets them apart. Most of the danger is from feral hives in the wild. Beekeepers carefully manage their hives to keep Africanized queens out. Because bees are so critical to agriculture, the movement of bees is regulated in many states. Most have a bee inspector to oversee the process. Currently a total of 38 states regulate the movement of honey bees within the United States and require a permit or health certificate to do so. Four states, Arizona, Kansas, North Dakota and Oregon, have no regulations on the movement of bees, according to research published in 2022. Another eight states have no regulations requiring permits or health certificates for the interstate movement of bees. Africanized honey bees aren't all bad Scientists who study bees emphasize that while Africanized honey bees are more defensive, they hold a lot of promise for overall honey bee health because they're more pest and disease resistant and are very genetically diverse. That's important because honey bees play a critical role in agriculture and the environment and have been subject to large die-offs in the past two decades. In 2017, one-third of the nation's hives perished. Breeding and even gene manipulation could result in better – and gentler – bees, said Ellis. "Although they have heightened defensive behaviors, science may be able to maximize their positive traits and minimize their negative traits," he said. What should you do if you encounter an Africanized honeybee hive? Because of their highly defensive nature, if you encounter aggressive bees, the best response is to leave – fast. "Get away as quickly as possible. Don't jump in water, don't swat with your arms. Just run away as as fast as you can," said Ellis. "You might want to pull your shirt up around your nose and mouth to protect against stings that could cause swelling of your airway." In general, the biggest threats are to tethered or penned livestock and pets that can't get away as well as humans using heavy equipment who accidentally get too close to a hive without being able to hear the angry buzzing of the bees. Once you've evacuated the area, call for professional help. "If you're in a rural area, it's very likely these bees have been Africanized," said Rangel. Nobody should try to deal with a colony on their own "just to save a few bucks," she said. "You don't want to mess with them."