Arbeidspakke 1A - Risikofaktorer for predasjon på frittgående storfe
I Norge er predasjonsraten på storfe omtrent 100 ganger lavere enn den er for sau. Derfor er storfe blitt foreslått som et passende alternativ til sau i rovdyrutsatte områder. Vi ønsker å identifisere risikofaktorer for predasjon på storfe fra store rovdyr. I tillegg vil vi beskrive suksessfaktorene for storfebesetninger med null eller liten tap innen ulvesonen.
Arbeidspakke 1B - Storfe-rovvilt møter: Atferd og stress
Understanding the mechanisms and consequences of cattle-carnivore encounters will help to evaluate practical and ethical aspects of cattle ranging on forested outfield pastures. We study how cattle space use, grazing activity and animal welfare is affected by carnivore encounters. To what extent space use and habitat selection of freeranging cattle and carnivores are overlapping is crucial to predict risky habitats. We therefore also monitor carnivore movement behaviour in relation to forested outfield cattle pastures.
We collaborate with farmers to monitor their herds with Nofence collars. These collars have movement sensor that measure neck movement ten times per second. We have now developed a model that classifies the sensor data into different behaviours. The results are published as scientific article and as a more informative comic, check out our blog post.