The Kaziranga National Park in India has deployed aerial drones to monitor poaching activity to protect the endangered one-horned rhino population.
Two-thirds (approx. 2,300) of the world’s one-horned rhinos live in this park, which also houses elephants, tigers, and other wildlife.
However, 21 rhinos have fallen victim to poaching last year and the use of drones may be needed to prevent this from happening.
The aerial drones can fly their route at a maximum elevation of 200m (656ft) for up to 90 minutes.
They are also light enough to be launched by hand and will be able to take images of the ground below with a still or video camera.
The Kaziranga National Park is using a similar system that was used by the WWF in the Chitwan National Park in Nepal, which turned out to be a great success.
This will be the first time that drones have been used to monitor wildlife in any Indian National Park and it will now be possible to keep an eye on the remotest parts of the enormous park (185 sq miles).
Want to learn more? Read the full story here: Using drones to monitor wildlife in India