Can drones help tackle Africa's wildlife poaching crisis? (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Matthew Wall
Business reporter, BBC News

An eye in the sky that can help catch wildlife poachers is the dream of many conservationists in Africa.

That dream is closer to becoming a reality thanks to rapid advances in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or drone, technology.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a Kenyan 90,000-acre reserve specialising in protecting white and black rhinos, has teamed up with San Francisco-based tech company Airware, which specialises in drone autopilot systems.

"With the blessing of the Kenya Wildlife Service we did 10 days of testing," Robert Breare, Ol Pejeta's chief commercial officer, told the BBC.

Rangers at the base could operate the drone via two laptops, one showing a map tracking the flight path, the other showing the UAV's point of view through a high-definition camera.
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more (incl. video): http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28132521

[Warpy]

1. It would be a wonderful use for them.

Blasting wedding parties in Afghanistan, not so wonderful.

[defacto7]

2. Finally a use for those things

that is a plus for the world. Sorry Fed-X.

[gejohnston]

3. Game departments in the US

have been using manned aircraft for years to do the same thing. Aerial reconnaissance is aerial reconnaissance. My question is with this real time intelligence, will there be a fast reaction force to meet the poachers in time? Perhaps drones armed with anti-material rounds to take out their vehicle's engine before they can shoot and run?