Why was the tracking collar that was fitted on Macho B so large?
A. While there are no regulations on the appropriate size of a tracking collar, experts agree that a collar should weigh no more than 3-5 percent of the animal’s body weight. At less than two pounds, Macho B’s collar was less than two percent of his body weight, and it did not impede his normal movements and ability to catch prey. Tracking collars have been used on jaguars throughout their range; they do not impede a jaguar’s ability to move around, kill prey, or to go about the rest of their normal activities in the wild. The battery made up the majority of the total collar weight. Battery size dictates how long a collar will transmit signals and how often. Macho B’s collar would have lasted approximately a year and a half while providing location points every three hours.
