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Life

Conservation drone captures secret family portrait of orcas

By Rachel David

3 August 2015

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(Image: NOAA, Vancouver Aquarium)

It’s a secret family portrait of orcas captured by a drone. This photo, which was snapped last year near Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, is part of the first scientific effort to monitor the threatened animals with drones.

Deployed by John Durban at NOAA Fisheries and his colleagues, the drone is equipped with a digital camera that takes high-resolution images. Now the team is using these photos to monitor the orcas’ health. For example, the photos can be used to determine an animal’s body mass, helping to gauge whether it has enough to eat. Orcas feed mainly on Chinook salmon, which are declining in number, so the photos can tell us if the Chinook’s troubles are having a knock-on effect on the orca population.

The picture above shows a baby in the middle and a two-year-old calf second from the top, keeping up with their relatives. Below, two orcas nuzzle head-to-head, a typical behaviour during playtime. Other photos have helped the scientists keep tabs on the animals’ health, determining which are in good shape and which are at risk of dying.

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(Image: NOAA, Vancouver Aquarium)

Scientists are rapidly adopting drones to help with wildlife conservation. They are much less costly than using conventional aircraft to take aerial shots and quieter too, allowing closer access to animals without disturbing them.

Drones have recently been used to track hippos and elephants threatened by poachers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and herds of black rhinos in Namibia. Another project used drones to monitor wildlife corridors, overpasses put in place to mitigate the impact of human-made structures on nature but whose effect is still being debated.

Journal reference: Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems, 10.1139/juvs-2015-0020

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