Overview

• Forty animatronic marsh rabbits were released in mid-July with embedded motors and heaters to mimic the motion and body heat of live prey
• Each robo-rabbit runs on solar power, sits in a waterproof pen and is equipped with a motion-sensor camera that pings researchers upon snake approach
• The trial seeks to replace labor-intensive live-rabbit decoy methods with a scalable, low-maintenance technology for detecting and removing pythons
• If heat and motion cues prove insufficient, the team plans to perfume the robots with rabbit scent to boost lure effectiveness
• Researchers expect to analyze field data by November to determine the robo-rabbits’ success rate and guide future python control efforts