给家猫装上摄像头，细看猫的世界# Animals - 动物园
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http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-kitty-cams-
Lightweight Kitty Cams reveal the secret life of house cats
Talk about a feline privacy invasion: From November 2010 to October 2011,
researchers at the University of Georgia strapped lightweight video cameras
onto 60 house cats in Athens, Ga., to find out exactly what domesticated
kitties do and where they go when their owners let them out to roam.
Two thousand hours of footage later, the researchers say 44% of the cats
went on attempted killing sprees and 85% engaged in dangerous behaviors such
as crossing two lane streets and exploring tight spaces where they might
get trapped. Perhaps most hurtfully, footage taken by four of the cats
revealed that they keep a second family on the side.
The Kitty Cams used in the research were designed by National Geographic,
makers of the wearable Crittercams that have been strapped on hundreds of
animals including grizzly bears, lions, penguins, humpback whales and sea
turtles -- all in the service of learning how animals behave when humans
aren't around.
Kerrie Anne Loyd, lead researcher on the Kitty Cam project, said the cameras
her cats wore were the smallest and most lightweight wearable cameras that
National Geographic has built yet. In a video of her thesis presentation
this summer she explained that the cameras were outfitted with small LED
lights so researchers could still see footage that the cats took at night
and in dark places. The cameras also had a radio transmitter that would let
the camera be located if a cat lost its collar.
Because Crittercams have mostly been worn by wild animals, National
Geographic designed them to remotely transfer small amounts of data every
few days, expecting that the battery power would soon drain, and that the
camera would fall off.
But the Kitty Cam was able to collect large amounts of data because the cat
owners were able to download the footage each night, and were able to
recharge the cameras. That's the benefit of working with domesticated
animals -- they come with humans who can help.
Loyd has put a collection of Kitty Cam videos on her website describing her
project where you can watch a cat growl at a dog from beneath a car, hunt a
lizard and fight off a totally gross opossum.
But the point of her research was not to show us cool videos from a cat's
perspective, but rather to look at the risk to native wildlife species of
letting domesticated cats play outside, and the risk to the cat itself. Her
conclusion, after sorting 2,000 hours of footage taken by cats, is that it
is better for wildlife and for cats if they remain indoors as much as
possible.
Lightweight Kitty Cams reveal the secret life of house cats
Talk about a feline privacy invasion: From November 2010 to October 2011,
researchers at the University of Georgia strapped lightweight video cameras
onto 60 house cats in Athens, Ga., to find out exactly what domesticated
kitties do and where they go when their owners let them out to roam.
Two thousand hours of footage later, the researchers say 44% of the cats
went on attempted killing sprees and 85% engaged in dangerous behaviors such
as crossing two lane streets and exploring tight spaces where they might
get trapped. Perhaps most hurtfully, footage taken by four of the cats
revealed that they keep a second family on the side.
The Kitty Cams used in the research were designed by National Geographic,
makers of the wearable Crittercams that have been strapped on hundreds of
animals including grizzly bears, lions, penguins, humpback whales and sea
turtles -- all in the service of learning how animals behave when humans
aren't around.
Kerrie Anne Loyd, lead researcher on the Kitty Cam project, said the cameras
her cats wore were the smallest and most lightweight wearable cameras that
National Geographic has built yet. In a video of her thesis presentation
this summer she explained that the cameras were outfitted with small LED
lights so researchers could still see footage that the cats took at night
and in dark places. The cameras also had a radio transmitter that would let
the camera be located if a cat lost its collar.
Because Crittercams have mostly been worn by wild animals, National
Geographic designed them to remotely transfer small amounts of data every
few days, expecting that the battery power would soon drain, and that the
camera would fall off.
But the Kitty Cam was able to collect large amounts of data because the cat
owners were able to download the footage each night, and were able to
recharge the cameras. That's the benefit of working with domesticated
animals -- they come with humans who can help.
Loyd has put a collection of Kitty Cam videos on her website describing her
project where you can watch a cat growl at a dog from beneath a car, hunt a
lizard and fight off a totally gross opossum.
But the point of her research was not to show us cool videos from a cat's
perspective, but rather to look at the risk to native wildlife species of
letting domesticated cats play outside, and the risk to the cat itself. Her
conclusion, after sorting 2,000 hours of footage taken by cats, is that it
is better for wildlife and for cats if they remain indoors as much as
possible.
