A tag attachable to an animal, the tag comprising: a battery connected to aradio transceiver that consumes powerfrom the battery during transmissions and receptions of signals to and fromone or more proximate tags attachable to one or moreother animals to generate paired tag readings； and a controller configured tooperate the radio transceiver for a predetermined durationand frequency of transmissions, and a predetermined duration and frequency ofreceptions； wherein the predetermined duration andfrequency of transmissions and the predetermined duration and frequency ofreceptions are based on power consumptions of the radiotransceiver during transmissions and receptions, and a targeted number ofpaired tag readings of the tag.
