
Photo Credit: Smithsonian
Manual Monitoring
Traditional methods for surveying these populations include inaccurate aerial imaging and tedious, difficult manual counts. To calculate these numbers, workers often have to get creative - using binoculars, telescopes, or physically walking through the animal’s habitat to get an accurate measurement. These procedures are highly contingent on weather and animal behavior, making providing a quick, precise count difficult. Drone technology simplifies these processes and provides raw, accurate analysis. Tests performed by the Smithsonian found drone data was up to 96% more accurate than ground counts.