How viral bear video reveals dark side of filming animals with drones

When animals come into contact with drones, they may experience physiological changes such as an increased heart rate, behavioural responses such as running or flying away, or even suffer stress.

A recent online video took what seemed like an inspirational moment viral. The video, shot by Dmitry Kedrov using a drone, shows a baby bear climbing up and falling down the side of a mountain near Russia’s Sea of Okhotsk. After repeated efforts, the cub finally reaches the top, joining his mother and winning the hearts of viewers around the world. (Business Standard)

But after the initial enthusiasm for the video came some controversy when scientists pointed out that the incident may have been caused by the drone risking the cub’s life by interrupting its efforts to climb to safety. This prompted some online commenters to call for drones to be banned on grounds of environmental impact, while others defended the responsible use of this technology.

My colleagues and I have been researching the impact of drones on wildlife, and found that they pose very similar kinds of threats as other disturbances such as people, cars and conventional aircraft. This suggests that rules and guidelines that took animals into account would make a big difference to how much harm remotely and autonomously controlled aircraft could cause to wildlife through their noise and visual presence.

When animals come into contact with drones, they may experience physiological changes such as an increased heart rate, behavioural responses such as running or flying away, or even suffer stress that could disrupt their reproductive process. If they decide to avoid specific areas as a result of frequent disturbing drone encounters, this could fragment and ultimately damage the whole population.

Unfortunately, there is no reliable indicator that can give us an idea of the extent to which these flights are affecting wildlife. But this does not mean that there is no need to worry, because drone use is expected to increase in coming years.

Exactly how serious the threat from drones is depends on how often and how intensely they disturb the animals. If they are frequently disturbed, the animals will likely abandon the area, but they could also eventually become used to the drones. At worst, if drones fly too close to animals, collisions or attacks can cause wounds or death. Also, not all animal species nor individuals react to drones in the same way, and they may be more vulnerable in certain moments, such as breeding season, or in areas without protection or escape routes.... Read More