CANBERRA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Australia's national science agency has announced the part of "the world's largest satellite herd-tracking program."
More than 1000 feral buffalo and unmanaged cattle roaming northern Australia will be tracked for 3.5 years as part of the four million Australian dollar (2.6 million U.S. dollar) project announced by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) on Wednesday.
The animals will be tracked over 22,314 square kilometers of land in the Northern Territory (NT) and Queensland.
Satellite GPS-tracking tags will be attached to the animals' ears and deliver real-time, geographically-accurate insights into herd density, accessibility, and transport costs, according to CSIRO.
Larry Marshall, the Chief Executive of the CSIRO, said that the project could turn the animals from destructive pests into environmental, cultural and economic opportunities for indigenous communities.
"Australia's burgeoning space industry is creating exciting new possibilities for innovative science and technology to solve our greatest challenges, like using satellites to manage our wide, open land in more culturally and environmentally sensitive ways," he said in a media release. Enditem
