Sunday 27 April 2014

Germany deploys drones to protect young deer from combine harvesters

Trial in Bavaria shows great promise in spotting fawns hiding in tall grass and alerting farmers doing spring mowing

Agence France-Presse in Berlin

theguardian.com, Friday 25 April 2014 18.02 BST

A German wildlife rescue project is deploying small aerial drones to find young deer hiding in tall grass and protect them from being shredded by combine harvesters cutting hay in spring.

According to project spokesman Rolf Stockum, the pilot scheme has shown great promise in spotting the young animals. About 100,000 of them fall victim in Germany every year to the large agricultural machines, he said on Friday.

Five small drones fitted with combined digital and infrared sensors that can detect colour patterns and body heat were trialled in the southern state of Bavaria.

When spotted the young deer are fitted with beacons that emit radio signals so that farmers, when they later do the spring mowing, can find and avoid them as they noisily rumble across the grasslands and fields.

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