By Amber Thacker | Project Leader
Thanks to your incredible support, our drone project is well underway!
Two rangers from our rhino monitoring unit have been trained and are now licenced drone pilots. The intense training was carried out over a week and included theory and practical flying sessions. The theory covered a wide range of topics including air law, meteorology, and understanding drone technical components. It was a tough endeavour, and we are very proud of Simon Nakito and Simon Irungu for passing the training with flying colours!
The drone will initially be used to support rhino monitoring – enabling rangers to view in thick bush that previously they would not have been able to do. Our critically endangered black rhino need to be spotted every four days and sometimes this is not possible as they like to hide in thick bush which is dangerous for our rangers to enter – it's also a favourite spot for lions!
Over time the drone will be used to support human wildlife conflict management, again enabling monitoring of problem animals in difficult situations.
The drone has been purchased and we expect it to arrive later this month, when it will immediately be put to good use.
In total, this project cost around $6,000 and was only possible because of your generous support!
We would also love to share a big THANK YOU to John and Shea Stephens for making this happen, and for donating your time and expertise and to Craig Cleave at Kendrone – we couldn’t have done it without you!
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