Wild cats play an important role in ecosystems, but people and cats don’t always get along. In landscapes where people ranch, wild cats may try to eat farm animals like sheep or cattle. In turn, ranchers retaliate, sometimes proactively killing carnivores in case they cause problems, or following the loss of livestock. We’re working to protect both wild cats and people’s livelihoods by developing new non-lethal methods that promote peaceful coexistence between carnivores and ranchers and farmers.
Panthera scientists, along with researchers from the Research Center of Technologies for Society at the Universidad del Desarrollo in Chile, recently designed a prototype of a new predation deterrent called Blinka+A. The electronic device uses flashing lights and loud sounds to scare off carnivores wandering too close to farm animals.
The name Blink+A references the device’s novel combination of blinking lights and audio and also honors a well-known puma named Blinka in Torres del Paine, Chile. Blinka lost the use of an eye when just a kitten, which some suspect might have been due to a spine of a calafate bush.
Studies show that people are increasingly interested in exploring non-lethal tools to support human-wildlife coexistence. Non-lethal approaches use unusual sounds, visual cues or guardian animals to scare away carnivores, among many other existing methods. Fladry includes bright flags tied to fencing that flutter in the wind, and llamas, donkeys and guardian dogs are all employed to protect other kinds of animals. Electronic devices traditionally use either flashing lights or loud sounds to scare off carnivores and are generally more affordable and easier to use than other methods.
There’s no single solution to prevent carnivore attacks on livestock in every situation. Success often requires multiple approaches and adapting solutions to specific species and locales.
In 2019, scientist Nicolás Lagos, based in Chile, partnered with Javiera de la Fuente of Universidad del Desarrollo and set out to create a new, better tool to help deter pumas away from sheep in Patagonia, using just $20,000 USD in seed money — profits from a coffee-table style photographic book about local mountain lions Lagos published. When Lagos joined Panthera as the Project Coordinator for the Patagonia Coexistence Project in 2021, he brought the idea with him.
Lagos, other Panthera scientists, and Universidad del Desarrollo researchers including de la Fuente and her team, Marcos Arce and Carlos Román, designed Blink+A collaboratively, incorporating ideas and suggestions from ranchers, scientists and other people directly involved with carnivore-livestock interactions. Stakeholders wanted a device that was user friendly, low-cost, weather-resistant, energy-efficient, motion-activated and incorporated both multiple colored lights and different sounds.
It was a big ask, but the team was up to the challenge.
Blink+A uses rechargeable batteries connected to a solar panel. It includes LED lights, a speaker and sensors and comes pre-loaded with four sounds including gunshots, a person screaming, an alarm and dogs barking. When the sensors detect motion, the machine sets off flashing lights and plays a loud sound, scaring off pumas. This helps protect both livestock and ultimately the cats themselves.
Most electronic deterrent methods currently on the market only offer one tool — blinking lights, solar charging, loud noises — but Blink+A combines numerous functionalities into one device. Blink+A is also customizable. The sounds, for example, can be swapped out — barking dogs for police sirens. The device can also be programmed to be randomly activated, providing greater flexibility to meet each livestock owner’s needs.
The team recently published a scientific paper detailing the new proof-of-concept technology. Blink+A is also undergoing rigorous testing in both the lab and the field in Chilean Patagonia, Saudi Arabia and the U.S., with plans to expand trials soon. The goal is to trial Blink-A across diverse conditions — varying weather, continents, carnivores and livestock — to refine its design based on real-world data. These trials are supported by our partners We Are Wildlife and Big Cat Rescue.
The researchers also plan to include other capabilities in future versions of the deterrent, such as communication between devices and the inclusion of AI-enabled cameras capable of identifying animals who get close to the deterrent.
Once testing is complete and the final design created, Blink+A will be shared as an open-source project so anyone can modify the design and produce their own custom-made versions. The goal is for Blink+A to become a fully customizable, low-cost instrument available to help promote coexistence between ranchers and farmers and diverse carnivores around the globe.
Learn more about Panthera’s latest research in our Science Center.
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© Sebastian Kennerknecht
