Wolf Drones Pt 1
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. It seems like we hear about another use for drones every day! Well, the next big thing might be using drones to haze wolves that are attacking cattle.
In Oregon, the USDA Wildlife Service’s Southwest District
Supervisor, Paul Wolf, yes, you heard that right, Wolf, says they really weren’t too sure what to expect …
WOLF … “Low and behold, the first wolf that we encountered, the pilot flew the drone over to the wolf and the wolf started to play bow and wanting to jump at the drone and play with it. And, right away, the pilot he calls me and says, hey Paul, this is not going to work.”
But, Wolf says, the first drone attempt was silent except for the whirr of the rotor blade …
WOLF … “This gave us the opportunity to realize that it doesn’t work. We put the speaker on it, flew that drone back over to that same animal and, of course, it was ready and waiting and wanted to play. And the minute the pilot spoke across the loudspeakers and said, hey wolf get out of here, that animal turned and ran. He’s like, I think we got something.”
So, Wolf says, things look promising …
WOLF … “We’re at the tip of the iceberg and we’re really excited about what we saw, but I’m, I’m thinking just like everybody else, how long is this going to work? But as of right now, we’re excited for what we did see.”
Tune in tomorrow for the testing of drones to scare them away from livestock.
