What is drone?

A drone, in a technological context, is an unmanned aircraft. Drones are more formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or unmanned aircraft systems. Essentially, a drone is a flying robot. The aircrafts may be remotely controlled or can fly autonomously through software-controlled flight plans in their embedded systems working in conjunction with onboard sensors and GPS.

How it is able to track poachers?

Conservation Drones have also been working in a number of countries to reduce poaching activity. For e.g. At Chitwan National park in Nepal, it is used to detect illegal activities in case of one horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. Because of this technology, Poachers are highly aware and demotivated for poaching.

UAVs also provide the added benefit of being able to track poachers at night. UAVs fitted with thermal imaging cameras are able to monitor poaching activity in the dark when poachers are usually most actives. They can be used to detect animals or animal tracks, monitor protected areas and detect threats to animals such as human activity and damage to habitats. UAVs also bring with them a number of advantages in comparison to more traditional conservation methods. They can be more cost and time-effective than traditional ground surveys. Many areas across the world where conservation research is being conducted are also largely inaccessible.

 UAVs are also a cheaper, more efficient and safer alternative to using traditional manned aircraft and offer far greater flexibility than larger aircraft. In areas frequented by armed poachers, UAVs also offer protection to conservation researchers by enabling them to conduct their research from a distance. UAVs can also serve as a deterrent to poachers, with the presence of surveillance UAVs dissuading many poachers from entering an area altogether. UAVs are thus becoming a key tool for conducting animal abundance surveys and anti-poaching efforts potential to advance the fight against poaching.

 

Source:https://conservationdrones.org/

           https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/drones-better-counting-wildlife-than-people-180968276/

Photos source :Internet