Texting sheep collar protects ewe from wolf attack

Sheep could soon don heartbeat-monitoring collars that text shepherds to warn of dangerous wolves. No, really.

August 6, 2012 12:30 PM PDT Follow @lukewestaway

(Credit: CNET UK)

It's not easy being a wolf. You finally find a delicious sheep to eat, but before you can take a bite it sprays you with repellent chemicals and then texts a shepherd who comes and chases you off with a horrible big stick.

A biologist in Switzerland is researching an SMS-powered sheep collar that monitors the woolly one's heart rate and could summon a shepherd if a significant change is detected, the BBC reports.

Tests have already been carried out on 12 unlucky sheep, who were scared by muzzled Czechoslovakian wolfdogs while their heartbeats were monitored, revealing that the grass-munching animals' heart rates jumped significantly when stressed out.

Read more of "Texting sheep collar protects ewe from wolf attack" at Crave UK.

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