{"id":5206,"date":"2021-06-14T09:11:49","date_gmt":"2021-06-14T09:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.zeiss.com\/sports-optics\/hunting\/en\/?p=5206"},"modified":"2024-06-20T10:25:01","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T10:25:01","slug":"saving-wild-animals-via-thermal-imaging-drone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.zeiss.com\/sports-optics\/hunting\/en\/saving-wild-animals-via-thermal-imaging-drone\/","title":{"rendered":"Saving Wild Animals via Thermal Imaging Drone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Wildlife-Friendly Meadow Mowing<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Every year, the first mowing of the fields turns into a deadly trap for countless fawns, young hares, and similar animals. For years, Tobias Vandeck has relied on a combination of different preventive measures to save as many young animals as possible from being mowed to death on his hunting ground near Bad Oldesloe. This year, a drone with a thermal imaging camera was also used the first time \u2013 and he was impressed by the results achieved with its cutting-edge technology.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rescuing wildlife each year during the annual meadow mowing is much more than an obligatory conservation activity for hunting ground leaseholder Tobias Vandeck and his hunting team; it is, above all, a matter near and dear to their hearts. But one thing always troubled him in the past \u2013 despite taking conventional preventive measures such as the scaring away game, using volunteer helpers, and acoustic warning devices on the mower, there were, unfortunately, always a few animals that didn\u2019t make it. \u201cNewborn fawns are the most common victims,\u201d says Vandeck, who also rides the tractor himself during the harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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His hunting ground \u201cNeufresenburg\u201d spreads over a total area of 360 hectares, including about ten percent grassy area used for grass production. Many corners of the Stormarn district\u2019s beautiful natural landscape are genuine deer hotspots. Unfortunately, the does usually give birth to their fawns right in the areas to be mowed, however. With the goal of achieving \u201c100 percent,\u201d Vandeck went in search of alternative methods \u2013 and came across the idea of rescuing young game with a drone.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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He immediately took action and got the team from Wildtierrettung Segeberger Heide e.V. (Segeberger Heide wildlife rescue) involved. The association, founded last year and based in Kleinkummerfeld, is dedicated to organizing and carrying out search and rescue missions to find young game, especially fawns, in agricultural fields prior to mowing. \u201cDuring the season, we receive daily inquiries \u2013 from the outskirts of Hamburg to Dithmarschen and even up to the area around Rendsburg,\u201d says Olaf Weddern, one of the initiators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To carry out their missions, Weddern and his team of volunteers use a DJI Phantom 4 with a FLIR 640 Pro thermal imaging professional camera as well as a completely new system, the \u201cFlying Wildlife Rescuer.\u201d Both allow them to clearly detect heat sources, even from a height of 100 meters. Search operations take place in the early morning hours \u2013 usually starting at four\/five o’clock \u2013 ending between nine and ten o’clock, depending on weather conditions. The sun then heats up the area very quickly, making it impossible to tell the difference between a wild animal and its surroundings on the thermal image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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