Studying the physiology and behaviour of free-living wild animals was impossible until the technology to capture wild animals and to make measurements in the field was developed. A pioneer in this field was Robert H. Goetz who, having completed medical degrees in Germany and Switzerland, took up an appointment as a research scientist in the J.S. Marais Surgical Research Laboratory at the University of Cape Town in 1937. His expertise was in cardiovascular physiology and pathology and he became interested