Overview

• The USDA’s refined drones now offer extended flight times and faster turnaround to patrol grazing lands more effectively.
• Equipped with night-vision cameras and spotlights, the drones locate and illuminate wolves before broadcasting loud noises such as fireworks, gunshots, AC/DC and a Scarlett Johansson film scene.
• In one pilot area, cattle losses dropped from 11 fatalities in 20 days to just two over 85 days following drone deployment.
• Ongoing monitoring aims to determine whether wolves will habituate to the deterrents and to assess the method’s long-term ecological impacts.
• The program builds on nonlethal strategies necessitated by federal protections for wolves reintroduced in 1995.