UAVs, or unnamed aerial vehicles, are perhaps one the most popular electronic devices nowadays. “Our results support the 2014 decision by the U.S. National Park Service to ban all public use of UAVs within park boundaries”. Even big companies such as Amazon and Google have been using these devices for their benefit.
Advertisement
This isn’t the first time that concerns have been raised that drones could be disturbing wildlife. Now researchers have been investigation if UAVs may affect wildlife in any way. For instance, American black bears typically barely seem startled when a UAV comes near, the researchers said. Global Positioning System collars allowed the biologists to track the bears and fly drones over their heads, while cardiac biologgers helped the team measure the bears’ reaction. They have been used to ward off rhino and elephant poachers in Africa and collect data on wild humpback whales. It is possible that other animals also go through this stress when they see an unknown object. Among many other uses.
But how do the animals feel about these little UFOs hovering overhead? The finding suggests that greater caution is necessary with drones flying above wildlife.
The researchers implanted heart monitors in free-roaming American black bears to better understand how their hearts work. Although, the researchers did specify that they may not always show their fear.
“Some of the spikes in the heart rate of the bears were far beyond what we expected”. And they have just released a study that lead author Mark Ditmer, a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, says he hopes will encourage more research on the subject.
The current range of black bears in the United States is constant throughout most of the northeast, and down in the Appalachian Mountains nearly continuously from Maine to north Georgia, the northern midwest, the Rocky Mountain region, the west coast and Alaska. Watched bears didn’t typically run away or hide. This element is key because it demonstrates the importance of a deep study and analysis on wildlife instead of mere observation.
According to the Washington Post, the bears might not be reacting outwardly because the ones being studied live in “heavily populated” areas and are used to human noise and activity.
The problem is that there haven’t really been any studies until now that looked at how this human practice affects animals.
Drones today serve a number of purposes, ranging from recreation to research to delivery, but they can be bothersome and even risky if they come too close to people, animals or important infrastructure. Also, because of drones, the animals may expose themselves to risky situations, and could become more “vulnerable to sources of mortality”, Ditmer explained.
There is no time to waste either, since drones continue to grow in popularity.
“UAVs hold tremendous potential for scientific research and as tools for conservation”, added Mr Ditmer.
Advertisement
“Just because we can’t directly observe an effect doesn’t mean it’s not there”, Ditmer said.
