Drone Discovery · Land, Life & Science Curated. Reviewed content maintained by Hamptonian — not a live feed

Wildlife

Biologists count, track and study animals from above, often disturbing them less than people on foot or in aircraft.

Interactive

Example missions

Lawnmower grid

Colony count

A high-altitude grid limits disturbance while capturing countable images.

Why this pattern? Parallel, overlapping lines let mapping software match features between photos. More overlap = better models, but more photos and flight time.

What drones do here

Count colonies of birds, seals and other animals
Monitor whale health
Track poaching and habitat
Find nests and dens

Real-world examples

SnotBot
Ocean Alliance's SnotBot drones collect whale spout samples to study whale health without touching the animals.
Source(opens in a new tab)
Colony counts
Biologists count seabird and marine-mammal colonies from overlapping aerial photos.

Drone types

Quiet multirotors
Fixed-wing for large areas

Sensors & payloads

RGB
Thermal
Sampling devices

Related STEM

Biology and ecology
Statistics and sampling
Machine learning

Skills required

Minimizing wildlife disturbance
Image counting and AI tools
Permits and ethics

Careers

Wildlife biologist
Field technician
Conservation drone pilot

Education & training

B.S. wildlife biology, zoology or ecology

Certifications

FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate
Wildlife research permits (agency-specific)

Practice with Hamptonian apps

Pathways into this industry

Hamptonian

DroneWorks

Crack the Code. Read the Sky.