While most of us are excited about the prospect of pizza delivery by drones, it seems there are others who don't share our enthusiasm. Birds of prey don't like these gadgets very much!
Inspector Rick Steven was confronted by some angry eagles while flying his unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) at the St Ives mine, located in the Goldfields region of Western Australia.
In short, the eagles destroyed his drones, forcing Steven to become more inventive. The UAVs have helped Steven create 3D models of the mines and allow him to help workers avoid extreme weather events.
But the eagles don't share the same view and attack the drones, apparently because they consider them a threat.
“Eagles are extremely protective of their territories,” says Steven. “Seeing a UAV in the sky, they obviously view it as a threat, something encroaching on their territory.”
So Steven's team turned to a raptor rehabilitation center for help, where they were advised to "disguise" the drones to look like young eagles.
“Eagles will let a chick pass without feeling threatened,” he explained. This solution worked for about 50 flights, but then the eagles realized that the drones were not baby eagles and started shooting them down again.
The UAVs are no ordinary drones and cost around A$10,000 (US$7,391) each, as does the camera attached to them.
So Steven stopped camouflaging his drones and flying them when the eagles weren’t in the air. “We know that eagles prefer to fly in warm temperatures, as they can fly more easily. This happens during the hottest hours of the day, which is why we now fly our drones early in the morning,” he explained. This solution proved to be much more effective.
Commercial drone operators who happen to share the air with a vigilant eagle should beware!
