Drone saves endangered chimpanzees

Drones can be used to map chimpanzee distribution frequently in remote areas and detect changes at a faster rate than previous methods. Drones can detect areas where population levels are low. The reason for using drones, is not only because it saves researches time, is that chimpanzees live in low densitiers and are also very shy towards humans, making it harder to find them.

The drone which was used in this study, was a low-cost and easy-to-use model. The drone has a flight time of 20 minutes, during which it took a large number of photos. “The most commonly used method to survey great ape populations is counting nests during ground surveys, as they build a new nest each night but these ground surveys do not occur frequently enough with due time and costs involved," said Serge Wich, Professor, Liverpool John Moores University.

Drones have been used before to survey a wildlife but this project adds a new dimension, explains Professor Wich: “So far, aerial drone surveys have successfully detected nests of orang-utans, but before this study it was unknown if this technology would work for African apes, which often construct their nest lower below the canopy. This study shows that drones are also a promising tool to assist African ape conservation."

As well as counting, the drone has another purpose to help in conservation. According to Alexander van Andel, IUCN Netherlands, “The results of this study show that drones can be a new tool to determine faster whether chimpanzees are present in a certain area. In addition, the study shows that habitat suitability can be determined by drones by identifying tree species which are important in the chimpanzee diet.”