27-01-2025
Bear necessity: A drone can be lifesaver in grizzly country
"If it's black, fight back; if it's brown, lie down; if it's white, well say goodnight." Such is the forlorn advice for any camper or mountaineer unfortunate enough to encounter a bear on the prowl.
Unless packing heat, people have little chance of surviving an encounter should one of the giants move in for the kill. The polar bear is the world's biggest land carnivore with some males weighing upwards of 700 kg; lone hunters capable of killing prey more than twice their size such as narwhals and walruses.
While omnivorous, North American brown bears can be nearly as large, with paws the size of dinner plates that can down a bull moose with a single well-placed swipe.
And though smaller, female bears are arguably more dangerous than males if startled while out and about with their cubs: Think of the wince-inducing scene in "The Revenant" when Leonardo di Caprio's trapper character is mauled by a momma grizzly after chancing upon her little ones in the wilderness.
But there could be a life-saving method for campers and hikers that does not involve strapping on a rifle. According to Wesley Sarmento of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, using "a highly maneuverable, buzzing drone" resulted in him "scattering bears with accuracy" when they were found to be getting too close for comfort.
Grizzlies are "an imposing predator that can take down prey as large and dangerous as an adult bison," warned Sarmento, who wrote up his findings for the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science.
After having limited success using trained dogs, firecrackers and non-lethal rounds, Sarmento found using a drone meant he "could precisely chase bears exactly where I wanted them" without having to get out of his truck.
"Even at night, I could find bears from afar with the thermal camera, and then fly in closer to move them away from towns, homes, and livestock," he said.
