A herd of Dexter cows has learnt to associate the sound of music with a virtual fence to help protect an Iron Age hill fort nestled in the Wye Valley.
Little Doward Hill Fort, built in the 5th Century BC near Whitchurch, provided protection for a prominent Iron Age war Lord from the likes of oncoming Anglo Saxon warriors.
Now the biggest battle the Woodland Trust owned site faces is against vegetation and invasive species sweeping over it.
The charity has reached out to a small herd of Dexter cows to help it protect and restore the fort, as well as the 82 hectares of woodland around it.
The cunning cows have learnt to associate musical beats, played through a solar powered collar, with a virtual fence.
Virtual fencing is a way of managing herd movement through collars and online software more effectively than with physical fencing.
The technology involves a combination of GPS collars, cloud computing and online software to control where livestock grazes.
A boundary is ‘drawn’ on the farmer’s smartphone and when the animal approaches that boundary the GPS collar gives audio-warning stimuli, followed by a mild electric pulse if the animal continues.
Richard Brown, Woodland Trust site manager said: “Little Doward is a really ancient and special site with not only the fort which looks over the beautiful Wye Valley, but ancient woodland too.
“It is a bit of a battle to preserve the fort from vegetation and we have turned to grazing a small herd of Dexter cows who have been trained to associate musical beats with a virtual fence.
“This is a win all around for the site - for nature and restoration the cows are ideal grazers across a wide range of species. They help spread seeds through their dung and gently move the soil around but without destruction.
“For the fort itself they are able to stop vegetation engulfing it and the virtual fencing technology, via an app, helps us to move the herd around, in effect moving the fence."
Little Doward Woods forms part of the Wye Valley Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Upper Wye Gorge Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
