Animal tracking

A badger from Wytham Woods in Oxfordshire is fitted with Wilson's tracker, which estimates the animal's energy expenditure. Translating the data from the logger will reveal its route, pace and behaviour. Until now scientists have been unable to get full insight into this nocturnal animal's world. Photograph: Michael Proudfoot/Rolex Awards

Wilson likens his tracker to the black-box flight recorder that monitors changes in an aircraft's speed and altitude. It contains a triaxial accelerometer that monitors changes in an animal's acceleration. The tracker records fur seals sleeping underwater. Photograph: Rory Wilson/Rolex Awards

Leatherbacks are huge sea turtles which roam the world's oceans. They can swim 100m under water. Wilson's tracker can function in dense forest, underground and in the ocean where satellite-based devices cannot. Photograph: Rory Wilson/Rolex Awards

The device has been successfully attached to the lemon sharks in the Caribbean. It is proving pivotal in understanding the sharks in their hidden habitat. Photograph: Rory Wilson/Rolex Awards

The tracker records the diving activity of Magellanic penguins off Argentina's Valdes Peninsula. The birds feed predominately on fish that is also eaten by man. If harvesting diminishes the fish stocks, the device would indicate how this impacts on the penguins. Photograph: Rory Wilson/Rolex Awards

Wilson's logger helps explain how the Emperor penguin survives the Antarctic's harsh environment by determining the amount of energy it uses to acquire food. Photograph: Ilka Zimmer/Rolex Awards

The tracker is attached to the ocean sunfish. A successful animal is one that takes in a lot more energy than it expends. Many conservation issues involve animals that are expending too much energy. The device estimates how much energy they use flying, swimming, hunting, digging, feeding, fighting or mating. Photograph: Rory Wilson/Rolex Awards

Not only will the tracker help save animals facing extinction now, such as the solitary whale shark, it will provide valuable data on many species which are almost certain to be threatened in the future. Photograph: Rory Wilson/Rolex Awards