Tracker

A tracker is a small piece of technology used by the Gamemakers to locate each tribute inside the Hunger Games arena.

History

Shortly before the 10th Hunger Games, the Capitol Arena bombing opened up a number of passages beyond the cameras' view. Since trackers were not yet in use, this made it difficult to locate tributes and keep track of who was still alive. Trackers were eventually introduced in later iterations of the Games, likely to circumvent this exact issue.

Sunrise on the Reaping

On the morning of the 50th Hunger Games, a woman in a white coat carried a set of syringes. She inserted trackers into the forearms of Haymitch Abernathy, Wyatt Callow, Maysilee Donner, and Lou Lou. Wyatt asked what happens if they win, if the tracker is taken out. The woman replied that they collect all the trackers from the tributes, dead or alive, as they are reusable. The woman also pointed out that of course for this year, with twice as many tributes, they needed 24 extra.

The Hunger Games

A tracker being inserted into a tribute's arm.

On the morning of the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen grabbed onto a ladder, and she was held in place by an immobilizing current as she was lifted into the hovercraft. This current kept her still as a woman in a white coat with a syringe inserted her tracker. Once injected, the current released her. This was presumably the same procedure used for each tribute on their own individual transports.

In The Hunger Games film, tributes were all transported together in the same hovercraft, and there was no immobilizing current. As a result, a female Capitol attendant came around with the syringe to inject trackers only once the tributes were seated.

Catching Fire

On the morning of the 75th Hunger Games, Katniss was once again injected with a tracker by a doctor before being transported to the arena. On the third and final day of the Games, Johanna Mason hit Katniss over the head with a heavy coil of wire, then pinned her down and cut out the girl's tracker. At the time, Katniss thought Johanna was trying to kill her, and when she came upon Beetee Latier with a similar gash below his elbow, she assumed someone had attacked him too. She later found out that Johanna had removed her tracker so she couldn't be traced by the Capitol back to District 13. Considering this alongside Beetee's knowledge of the rebel plan, it's likely that he cut out his own tracker to secure his own rescue.

Usage

Trackers were inserted into the inner arm of all tributes during their transport from the Capitol to the arena. A syringe gun was injected into the arm, and when activated, the small metal tracker was placed deep under the skin. Katniss described the injection itself as painful, and she stated that in her anxiety, she pressed on her tracker even though it hurt. However, there is no indication that the tracker itself caused tributes any pain or discomfort once the pain of the initial injection faded.

Since Katniss had to be injected with a new tracker just a year after she and Peeta Mellark won, victors' trackers were presumably removed after their extraction from the arena.

Trivia

• Johanna's removal of the tracker left Katniss with a "gaping hole" in her forearm, and the medical team's work to repair it resulted in a "lumpy, jagged scar that [rippled] out over a space the size of an apple." This scar was the subject of debate among Fulvia Cardew, Plutarch Heavensbee, and Katniss's prep team. They discussed covering it up with an armband while she was on camera.