During his regular checkup, a 9-year-old clouded leopard named Masala undergoes a procedure to get a tiny heart monitor implanted under his skin at the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia.
Rosana Moraes, a Brazilian biologist, studies how high-stress levels in animals can hinder their ability to thrive and breed. Masala’s new heart monitor will record changes in his body temperature, hydration and heart rate — which all tell a lot about an animal’s level of stress and anxiety.
Moraes calls it a
