A joint press release by the Phoenix Fund and the Land of the Leopard National Park
An unmanned aerial vehicle with a camera and video recorder - the quadcopter - appeared at the disposal of the Land of the Leopard National Park. The device and a series of training sessions for the park’s rangers were provided by the Phoenix Fund.
Earlier, the rangers of the Land of the Leopard had already had the opportunity to witness the patrol effectiveness of the copter during several presentations. And this time Phoenix donated first UAV to the national park just in time with the beginning of fire-hazardous season. Funds to purchase the quadcopter for the national park were provided by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
(с) Phoenix Fund
(с) Phoenix Fund
“Certainly, it is a valuable gift to the national park, - says Eugene Stoma, Deputy Director of the Land of the Leopard. - Performance characteristics of the copter will allow monitoring fires, controlling poaching, tracking wildlife conflict, and conducting animals’ counts. I think this equipment would be very effective in the inspector’s work. ”
The rangers had passed a series of lessons learning how to operate the UAV. The first training was carried out in Vladivostok where the inspectors received theoretical knowledge and later they were able to demonstrate new knowledge in practice under the supervision of the Phoenix Fund’s staff.
(с) Phoenix Fund
Video of the training flight can be found here: https://youtu.be/ZtZ08qOLhNs
“The crew from the Land of the Leopard is promising. The guys are young and technically competent”, - says Sergei Bereznuk, Director of the Phoenix Fund. - They absorbed all the necessary information rapidly and have proven that they can put it into practice. During the training session using the UAV inspectors managed to detect a fire which at that time was being extinguished by their colleagues.”
(с) Phoenix Fund
Video of the fire detection can be found here: https://youtu.be/wKbENMllq1Y
Air monitoring of the Land of the Leopard will be held as needed. During fire-hazardous period the quadcopter will help identify wild fires and monitor the situation, depending on the wind speed and direction. In addition, it is planned to purchase two more similar devices that will allow for conducting air patrols by the three anti-poaching teams of the park simultaneously.
