Killer Whales Monitored Using Hexacopter Drone
1,620 views · Published 21 October 2015 · 1:35 · Indexed 21 October 2026
Channel: Vancouver Aquarium · 2015 · Education
For the first time ever, researchers have used hexacopters in the study of southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Salish Sea. They used this method for taking photos of northern resident killer whales in the Johnstone Strait for the first time in the summer of 2014. Dr. Lance Barrett-Lennard, head of the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Research Program, worked alongside researchers Dr. John Durban and Dr. Holly Fearnbach of NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Photographs taken from the hexacopter allow the scientists to assess the killer whales’ body condition and health, a research method called photogrammetry. They collected thousands of high-resolution aerial images of almost 80 northern resident killer whales and all 81 southern residents. The whales appeared generally robust, and the team noted several pregnancies. The two populations are acoustically, genetically and culturally distinct. In Canada, the northern resident killer whales are considered threatened and the southern resident killer whales, endangered. The latter are also considered endangered in the United States. Among the threats to their recovery is the reduction in availability or quality of prey, primarily chinook salmon.
