Over 25 cows have been fitted with GPS collars at Slievenacloy Nature Reserve in Northern Ireland to help restore the designated grassland site.
The collars enable the cattle to be guided into carefully chosen areas of this 258-hectare Area of Special Scientific Interest where grazing is most needed.
The collars work by emitting audio signals to move the herd. If the animal ignores the signal and gets too close to the boundary, a small electrical pulse is emitted to get them back on track.
Conservation grazing is seen as a tool in helping to restore and manage sensitive habitats, such as flower-rich grasslands, and enabling wildlife to flourish.
The charity behind the move, Ulster Wildlife, said the technology was 'a game-changer' in helping to restore parts of Slievenacloy Nature Reserve.
Andy Crory, nature reserves manager at Ulster Wildlife, said: “The collars encourage the cattle to work harder for us.
"We can guide them into areas of rank vegetation that aren’t as palatable but which are in need of a bit of extra TLC in the form of extra grazing.
“Already, the cattle have started to open up the grassland and increase the diversity of the habitat by making space for a greater variety of wildflowers, such as orchids.
"Grassland management through grazing provides all the things that the birds, butterflies, moths, and lizards that make Slievenacloy special, need to thrive.”
Slievenacloy Nature Reserve is one of the best species-rich grasslands in Northern Ireland, hosting priority species such as skylark, cuckoo, frog orchid, small heath butterfly and marsh pug moth.
In 2022, Ulster Wildlife purchased an additional 133 hectares of adjacent land, expanding Slievenacloy Nature Reserve by 52% to 258 hectares.
