Salvare Foundation Drones Playing a Big Part in the Reduction of Wildlife Threats

Thanks to an ability to cover large areas particularly at night, Salvare Foundation drones are playing a part in the reduction of wildlife threats.

Globally, drones aid in everything from migration tracking and nest surveys to habitat management and anti-poaching activities.

Drones are changing wildlife conservation around the world.

Lion numbers have decreased sharply. Currently, the Uganda Wildlife Authority lists Lions as endangered.

Today, Lions face growing threats from poaching across Africa. Monitoring these Majestic animals is now more important than ever.

 

Conserving the Lion population effectively requires producing data that is both accurate and timely. Data includes the density, distribution, and land cover change of these animals.

Collecting such data even once was time-consuming and challenging for rangers to acquire via ground surveys. Now, this task is increasingly more efficient with the aid of UAVs.

 

The Salvare Conservation Program flies drones above the tree canopy. Drones monitor and track endangered populations by observing nests.

Drones, equipped with video cameras, capture high-resolution images that are often too costly to obtain otherwise. Plus, drones can fly pre-programmed missions autonomously for up to 50 minutes and over a distance of 25 km. This helps researchers survey and map terrain as well as their biodiversity.

 

 

 

The illegal wildlife trade, poachers, and trophy hunters are all contributing to the disappearance of lions on the African continent. The loss of habitat, poor regulation of legal trade, and climate change are also drivers in their declining numbers.

 

About 20,000 lions still live in the wild of Africa; a century ago there were 200,000 lions, the largest of Africa’s big cats.

 

Lions are currently listed as “vulnerable” on the “red list” of threatened species compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

 

Queen Elizabeth Park boasts sweeping savannas, crater lakes and forests, and is home to some 600 species of birds and 95 mammals, including elephants, rhinos and leopards. It is also a lion conservation, and the cats are among the biggest tourist attraction.

The park is famous for having the largest population of tree climbing Lions and whole prides can be spotted in trees. The newly discovered mutilated lions are reported to have had this particular tree-climbing trait.

 

A 2017 census of Uganda’s lion population put the number at 493.

 

Nearly half live in Queen Elizabeth National Park, where a team of investigators are now on the ground, joined by conservationists from The Salvare Foundation and police to probe this latest grim assault on Africa’s wildlife.

Africa is home to more endangered plants, birds and Animals than any other continent.

 

Unfortunately, Africa also experiences the highest levels of poaching, which is the primary threat to the conservation of many different species.

 

In recent years, poaching deaths increased significantly. The continent’s elephant population declined by 30% from 2007 to 2014. In 2015, poacher’s killed at least 1,338 for their horns, threatening the complete extinction of elephants and rhinoceroses.

Past efforts to stop poaching throughout Africa have seen little success—until now.

With the use of modern technology anti-poaching teams are evaluating their ability to combat poachers.

 

The Air Shepherd Initiative (ASI) group uses analytics to identify poaching areas. Once areas are identified via the algorithm, drones equipped with night vision are sent to track poachers. Once poachers are spotted, rangers are sent to intercept the invaders.

 

Flying drones up to 15 miles away at night gives ASI critical advantages.

The majority of poachers know that patrols are less effective after dark. Most poaching occurs at night, leaving the parks highly vulnerable once the sun sets. Night vision equipped drones are changing that disadvantage.

Traditionally, biologists and zoologists use helicopters, small planes and satellite photography to learn the migration habits of wild animals.

 

However, these methods take a significant amount of time and resources.

“Drones offer a very safe, green, and inexpensive alternative to manned aircraft,” said David Bird, professor of wildlife biology at McGill University.

 

Significantly smaller and more affordable, drones still capture detailed photographs needed for these efforts. Also, drones can be fitted with thermal cameras and sensors for more accurate monitoring.

 

Not only do drones utilize less resources, they’re also safer. According to Bird, small plane and helicopter crashes are leading causes of death for wildlife biologists counting animals or surveying nests.

 

In Antarctica, marine biologists from Duke University use drones along coastlines and nearby seas to monitor the habits of humpback whales.

The team hopes to learn how many whales work together to feed and if roles vary. And the advantage of observing such behavior from above via drone, versus from a boat or from ashore, are numerous