Wildlife

Specialized heavy-lift drone producer Parallel Flight Technologies has been tapped by USDA Wildlife Services to adapt its Firefly UAV developed to assist firefighters for a natural wildlife preservation project aiming to eradicate a destructive population of invasive rats on Wake Island.

If only haircuts were as exciting. When bull moose crave a more light-headed feeling each winter, they rid themselves of their weighty antlers with a sudden, mighty shake of the noggin that snaps them right off – an entirely unpredictable gesture performed deep in the wild that a Canadian drone pilot with impeccable timing somehow managed to capture on video.

Wildlife officials in Washington state are set to deploy drones over a large expanse of preserved space as part of their annual effort to estimate the population of the nearly extinct Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits.

A provincial court in Canada has ordered a man to pay nearly $7,400 (CAD 10,000) in penalties for piloting a drone near a wildfire in Alberta’s Jasper National Park. This is reportedly the “largest fine ever” issued for flying a drone illegally in a national park in Canada.

Switzerland delivered more bad news for fans of counter-drone raptor action – but a welcome development for animal rights activists – with the announcement by police in Geneva that two eagles trained to take out drones in flight are being reassigned to other duties.

This hunting season, wildlife conservation officers in Utah plan to search for evidence of poaching and locate illegally killed animals with the help of drones.

Researchers involved in a unique wildlife project are flying drones in an effort to track invasive Burmese pythons that are infesting the Everglades and other natural areas of Florida.

Bird watchers in the UK were outraged at seeing a drone fly in and break up a recurring mass flight phenomenon by starlings known as murmurations. The interruption last week near Brighton’s pier was also denounced for the dangers that the craft’s propellers posed to the performing creatures.

Led by World Wildlife Foundation Australia, a team of concerned organizations is mounting a drone-powered effort to create a “koala corridor” of trees and foliage to restore the marsupial’s habitat wiped out by recent fires, and reverse its population decline.

One of the most burning questions DroneDJ readers have is also one most pilots are eventually confronted with: What’s the best way of flying drones to observe wild elephants without disturbing them? Thanks to researchers, the world now has the answer.

Drones equipped with thermal sensors are being deployed in one of the UK’s largest-ever surveys of Atlantic grey seal pups as a less intrusive, faster, and cheaper alternative to manual counting.

Located in Scotland, the magnificent River Dee is one of the most famous salmon rivers in the world. But as popular as the 100% “Catch and Release” river is with anglers, it has been notoriously targeted for years by poachers who remove the fish illegally. So now, drones have been brought in to catch the criminals.

A brand-new DJI Mini 2 suffered the full force of a croc attack when a saltwater crocodile snapped at the drone mid-air, clearly unhappy about being filmed. The mangled drone was then discovered two weeks later, with the dramatic footage from its maiden flight having miraculously survived the assault.

Southern California-based professional shutterbug Carlos Gauna has been bringing us beautiful drone shots of sharks, whales, and other marine life for a while now. For his latest video, this time shot in San Diego, he collaborates with a very special 10-year-old boy looking to spread shark awareness with the help of his Mini 2 drone, and captures several close encounters between surfers and sharks.

Argentine photographer Maxi Jonas has been shooting wildlife for more than two decades. But he never dreamed of capturing his latest footage: a drone video of a southern right whale lazily playing with a stand-up paddle (SUP) board as its rider quietly sits, watching the giant say hello in its unexpected way.

Officials in Colorado have joined the rising chorus of park, game, and marine authorities around the world stepping up to make the same, increasingly louder appeal: Drone flights in natural settings often result in wildlife harassment, and must be entirely avoided.

Florida’s Tampa Bay has been battling toxic red tide bloom for weeks now. Hundreds of tons of dead fish and other marine organisms, as well as debris, have been washing ashore routinely, causing trouble for beachgoers. So now, some counties are turning to modern technology solutions like drones to keep their beaches clean.

The enduring pandemic hasn’t managed to undermine France’s passion for going on vacation whenever the opportunity arises, though it has forced most travelers to choose domestic destinations over foreign options. That has translated into a recent surge in visits to France’s nature reserves and national parks, and a corresponding increase in the number of drones overhead that now constitute a real problem.

Heartbreaking scenes of a juvenile whale trapped in shark nets off Australia’s Gold Coast for two days and two nights has reignited debate about the country’s shark control program. The humpback whale, which has been freed after a marathon rescue mission, still faces a fight for survival because rescuers have not been able to remove all portions of shark control equipment from its tail.

A rare public display of affection between two critically endangered North Atlantic right whales has been captured by a wildlife photographer in Cape Cod Bay. And we guarantee it will brighten up your day.

When a critically endangered southern right whale swam into a lake in Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) last month, it was a local drone photographer who was on hand to snag some spectacular footage of the majestic creature. And just last week, a mom and newborn calf whales were caught breaching on camera by a drone pilot off Jervis Bay.