Marwell Wildlife is using drones to protect endangered species.
The zoo has been working with the University of Southampton since 2021 to explore the potential of using drones, referred to as 'uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs)', to monitor and identify endangered animals in the wild.
The project aims to make the task of monitoring animals, assessing their body condition and understanding their migration patterns easier.
The project is developing technology that will enable animals to be identified from the sky using thermal imaging, high-definition cameras and artificial intelligence.
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With time, this technology may be able to differentiate between individual coat patterns.
For instance, every zebra has a unique stripe pattern, much like a human fingerprint or barcode, that can be used to identify an individual.
Professor Philip Riordan, director of conservation at Marwell Wildlife, said: "The potential applications of existing technologies for wildlife conservation are already huge and largely untapped.
"This project will use what is available and, with our partners, drive further innovations that can help conservationists around the world."
The drones have undergone several trials, including two over Marwell Zoo.
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During the most recent trial, the drones were able to capture images with enough detail to clearly see the veins in the ear of a zebra from 120m high.
Even the shadows of animals can provide valuable information to conservationists.
For instance, scimitar-horned oryx all look alike from above, but the shadows of males clearly show their horns.
Zoom features allow the team to check body condition by, for example, checking whether an animal’s pelvis and ribs are particularly visible, an indicator that they might not have access to sufficient resources.
So far, the drones have been used on a UK trial basis, but the team hopes to roll out the technology in the field in 2025.
The drones will help monitor snow leopards and ungulate species, including livestock, at Altyn-Emel National Park in Kazakhstan.
A joint PhD project is working on developing technology to identify individual animals and monitor them in a more cost-effective way than was previously possible.
Next year, UAVs will be deployed in Kazakhstan and Kenya, where they will work with the Grevy’s Zebra Trust and Kenya Wildlife Service.
The ultimate goal of the project is to develop an adaptable UAV platform that can be made widely accessible to conservationists around the world.
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