Species: Yellow-eyed penguin, hoiho (Megadyptes antipodes)
Location: New Zealand
Status: Endemic native species, endangered
The ‘Drone Ranger’ was initially invented to track penguins on a remote subantarctic island.
Now the New Zealand-made tracking technology is being used to help conservation efforts around the world.
The researcher needed to locate cryptic penguin nests as part of a population survey of the endangered species. But it soon became apparent that he wouldn’t be able to find all the nests in time using manual search methods – it was going to take two months just to locate them all, leaving no time for actual monitoring of how breeding was progressing.
The new Multi-Track Drone Ranger – which didn’t disturb the target species or other wildlife – allowed the researcher to collect all the required population data in record time. The multi-frequency receiver can simultaneously track 500 different frequencies (and therefore, animals) without having to change channels. The technology is combined with a GPS and attached to a drone, and could map the locations of all the nests in the study area in a 10-15-minute flight. This time saving allowed other research into diving and foraging behaviour to be prioritised.
