Are Drones an Answer to Wolf Attacks on Livestock?
Hazing wolves with drones.
NOTE: this article was originally published to Onland.WesternLandOwners.org on May 14, 2024. It was written by Ellie Gage.
Over just 20 days in the summer of 2022, there were 11 confirmed depredations by the resident Rogue Pack wolves in Southern Oregon’s Klamath Basin.
But gray wolves are listed as federally endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in two-thirds of Oregon, including the Klamath Basin, making it illegal to kill a wolf—even if it is caught in the act of attacking livestock.
That’s why Dustin Ranglack and his team are evaluating whether drones might be part of the answer. “We are focused on resolving human-wildlife conflicts with predators, so a lot of that is working on developing different conflict prevention tools for stopping predation,” says Ranglack, the predator project leader at Utah Field Station of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services National Wildlife Research Center.
When wolf-livestock conflict becomes chronic in areas where wolves are federally listed as an endangered species, producers and wildlife managers have to seek creative solutions.
Immediately following that heightened depredation event in the summer of 2022, Wildlife Services’ Oregon nonlethal team initiated night watch with a crew on the ground and drones equipped with thermal cameras. When wolves were located, the team hazed them from the ground and with the drone. The cameras allowed Ranglack’s research team to locate the wolves and to evaluate how they responded to the drone. Ranglack explains, “We were looking for a strong negative response to the drone from the wolf.”
On the first encounter between the drone and a wolf, the team attempted to haze the wolf with the drone, but the wolf responded with the classic “downward dog” pose and tail wag of a playful canine. So the team added a speaker to the drone through which they broadcast the pilot’s voice. Further trials showed that the drone equipped with a speaker was highly effective at hazing wolves away from cattle and even for stopping an attack in progress by multiple wolves.
LIMITATIONS AND DRAWBACKS
While there are limitations to this tool—including battery life, flight time and vegetation cover—Ranglack confirms that “drones can be an effective hazing tool.” During the drone trial period in 2022, just two depredations occurred in 85 nights, equating to nearly a 96% reduction in depredation events. Despite the success, Ranglack laments, This was not cheap.” The 85-day trial came with an estimated cost of more than $130,000, and the drones used by the team cost $18,000 each.
MORE TRIALS AROUND THE WEST
Clearly, big questions still remain: In what landscapes will the tool work best? Where might it be most cost-effective? “We are looking for people who are interested in using this technology as a hazing tool for wolves, so we can learn when and where this tool is effective and when and where it is not,” Ranglack says.
If you are interested in learning more, please contact Dustin Ranglack at dustin.ranglack@usda.gov.
Watch a video presentation by Ranglack that includes footage of the drone hazing wolves as they attack cattle
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