Why researchers are using drones to keep polar bears and people apart

详细摘要

While studies have shown drone hazing to be effective on black bears, researchers are now trying to see if it works with polar bears — a bigger, more curious and more aggressive species. The goal is to adapt the technology to Canada's North and try to take some of the risk out of managing the bears.

Researcher Kyle Garrett is looking at the viewfinder as his drone takes off, making a loud whirring sound as it zips low over the subarctic tundra in Churchill, Man.

Soon, he spies a lone adult polar bear, which looks right at the drone's camera.

"We want to see, does it scare them?" said Garrett. "Does it steer them into places we want them to go?"

For a split second, the bear ducks its head and broadens its stance defensively, as it assesses a foreign object it's likely never encountered before.

Garrett, a master's student from Utah's Brigham Young University, is experimenting with aerial drone hazing, an emerging wildlife management technique currently being used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Federal Aviation Administration.

An adult polar bear stares up at the camera of a drone. (Polar Bears International)

While studies have shown drone hazing to be effective on black bears, Garrett is trying to see if it works with polar bears — a bigger, more curious and more aggressive species. The goal is to adapt the technology to Canada's North and try to take some of the risk out of managing the bears.

Around Churchill, polar bear deterrence is a serious issue requiring serious balance.

The town, which is located on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay, roughly 1,000 kilometres north of Winnipeg, is the self-proclaimed polar bear capital of the world.

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