Angry ram attacks drone - and pilot

A video of a ram headbutting a drone out of the sky and then attacking the pilot is proving a big hit online.

More than 340,000 people have watched the clip of the black, wooly ram losing patience with the drone in New Zealand.

It shows the drone approach the ram which eventually charges the remote control device, bringing it down.

After a cut in the footage, the drone pilot is shown retrieving his device - and that's when the ram tries exacting some revenge.

The video was uploaded by YouTube user Buddhanz1 who wrote: "I was looking for the angry ram with my fpv quadcopter.

"I got a bit close and he managed to hit it knocking it into a bush, luckily no harm done. When I went to retrieve it he followed me, I had my hands full so he got me pretty good."

Many YouTube users said Buddhanz1 had only himself to blame for disturbing the ram in the first place.

"Suddenly, observation looks more like harassment," wrote Motherboard. "Can you blame Angry Ram for, well, being a ram and charging YouTube user Buddhanz1's quadcopter?"

Source ...

Film showing hundreds of dolphins surging through the ocean

A mega-pod of hundreds of common dolphins stampeding their way down the Californian coast has been filmed from the air using a drone.

The dramatic footage, filmed by Captain Dave Anderson of Capt. Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari in Dana Point, California, shows the mega pod travelling with three gray whales down the coast off San Clemente, California.

Capt. Dave says: "This is the most beautiful and compelling five minute video I have ever put together. I learned so much about these whales and dolphins from this drone footage that it feels like I have entered a new dimension! I have not been this excited about a new technology since we built our underwater viewing pods on our whale watching boat. Drones are going to change how we view the animal world. Wow!"

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/dolphin-stampede-011.html

Flight of The Mystery Drone: Bird ‘Bot Flew over Iraq

It wasn’t just Pakistan. The weird, vaguely avian drone of unknown origin that curiously showed up in Pakistan last year apparently made a different flight — to Iraq. It may have even migrated to Pakistan from Basra.

In August 2011, Pakistani forces recovered a small, silver, unarmed aircraft that had crashed in Balochistan province. With silver wings and a span about the size of a grown man’s outstretched arms, the drone was clearly more than a hobbyist’s toy: the remains of a camera were near the crash site, a camera that fit into the robotic bird’s belly, ostensibly for spying on insurgents. No one claimed responsibility for the drone, but when Danger Room checked into it, we found it suspiciously reminiscent of Festo’s SmartBird, a drone that used the herring gull to inspire its design, although there were enough differences in the wings, tail and fuselage to render it distinct.

The mystery continues. A reader of David Cenciotti’s Aviationist blog found new imagery of the unknown bird, from at least two years before its Pakistani excursion. And apparently, its earlier spotters were Iraqi insurgents.

Continued:  http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/09/mystery-drone-iraq/