Abstract: A bolus is inserted into the rumen of a bovine and includes sensors for collecting the temperature, activity level, and location of the animal over time and circuitry for communicating the collected data to a server that monitors the health, kinetic activity, and location of that animal and perhaps other animals in a herd. The battery of the bolus is continuously recharged in response to the peristaltic contractions of the rumen. The bolus communicates via a local network transmission technology such as Bluetooth to a radio transmitter mounted on the tail of the animal using a tail-mounted bracelet. This transmitter may then communicate the collected data and additional sensor data to the server. Thermal cameras mounted near water troughs, in corridors to milking rooms, or on drones may be used to supplement the data collected by the bolus to provide data indicative of the health condition of the animal.