Is it "Paleo" to use a Cyber Tracker field computer system?
The Art of Tracking
The art of tracking may well be the oldest science. Apart from knowledge 
based on direct observations of animals, trackers gain a detailed 
understanding of animal behaviour through the interpretation of tracks and 
signs. In this way much information can be obtained that would otherwise 
remain unknown, especially on the behaviour of rare or nocturnal animals that 
are not often seen.
Furthermore, tracks and signs offer information on undisturbed, natural 
behaviour, while direct observations often influences the animal by the mere 
presence of the observer. Tracking is therefore a non-invasive method of 
information gathering, in which potential stress caused to animals can be 
minimised.

While species may be recognised by some general characteristics, each 
individual animal's spoor differs in very subtle ways, and it is in principle 
possible to identify an individual animal from its spoor. So, for example, 
Kalahari Bushmen trackers can identify the antelope they have shot from the 
rest of the herd and will track down that individual animal. Apart from the 
functional and environmental adaptations of the species, an individual 
animal's spoor may vary according to its age, mass, sex, condition, and the 
terrain as well as random variations. It may also have a unique way of 
walking or a particular habit that distinguishes it from other individuals.

The ability of Bushmen trackers to interpret spoor is cultivated over a 
lifetime and developed to an exceptionally high degree. For example, men and 
women are able to identify the footprints of an individual person. While 
women usually have smaller and narrower feet than men, the size and shape of 
each individual's feet differ in subtle ways. Someone with a slender body 
build has slender feet, while someone who is stocky has shorter and 
relatively broader feet. A person's spoor is also characterised by the way he 
or she treads and walks. It may be characterised by the length of stride, the 
way the ball of the foot is twisted, the way the toes may be pointing inwards 
or outwards, the way the toes are splayed or curled in, the way the foot 
throws up sand or characteristic scuff marks. Each person has an individual 
mannerism when walking which can be identified in his or her spoor.

The CyberTracker field computer system enables trackers, even if they cannot 
read or write, to record every observation they make in the field. Trackers 
can therefore monitor the environment at a level of detail that was not 
possible before.

In the near future trackers could be employed in national parks throughout 
the world to monitor different aspects of the world's ecosystem. These 
programmes could be linked via the Internet to create a Global Environmental 
Monitoring System.

After hundreds of thousands of years, traditional tracking as practiced by 
hunter-gatherers is dying out. However, at the turn of the new millenium, the 
CyberTracker field computer will replace the bow-and-arrow and develop 
tracking into a new science that may have far reaching implications for the 
conservation of ecosystems.

Written by Louis Liebenberg, winner of the 1998 Rolex Award 
Project: Improve wildlife management in Africa by preserving ancient tracking 
skills and establishing a core of expert trackers.

To find out more, visit Louis' website at www.cybertracker.co.za.

"The Bushmen of southern Africa are the most skilled trackers in the world, 
stalking wildlife with expertise built over generations. However, since the 
majority of these trackers are illiterate, little of their experience has 
been documented and these ancient skills are on the brink of dying out. Louis 
Liebenberg, a South African scientist turned expert tracker, has made it his 
life’s work to revitalise the art of tracking and develop it into a modern 
and respected profession. To achieve this, he has created a hand-held 
computer, called a CyberTracker, that enables Bushmen to record their 
observations by selecting icons that depict the animals and their behaviour 
patterns from feeding to mating. This fusion of science with time-honoured 
African methods promises to advance ecotourism, wildlife management, and 
anti-poaching programmes." 

[this is all from AfriCam]