Drones effective for inventorying moose populations - but require perfect weather

Researchers at SLU in Umeå have tested the inventory of the moose population using drones, on behalf of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.

- This is the first evaluation of the method in Sweden and we see that drones used in the right way and under the right conditions can be very effective as an inventory tool for moose, says Tim Hofmeester, researcher at SLU and one of the authors of the report.

Requires perfect weather conditions

In addition to how many moose are in an area, it is also important for the wildlife management to know the gender and age of the moose, in order to follow the development of the moose population.

The result shows that drones are almost 100% accurate when it comes to finding moose - but the weather conditions must be perfect.

- Then we basically found all the moose that were in the area and the method was very effective. But if the sun comes out, uncertainties are created. It is difficult for the pilot to distinguish hot rocks from animal bodies because they look the same in the thermal image, at the same time hot treetops can also hide moose, says Tim Hofmeester.

However, it is more difficult to use drones to see gender and age.