Wildlife Scans

Getting an accurate tally of animals in the wild is key to protecting threatened species. But counting the animals can be tricky, particularly when they are well hidden or active only at night. Thankfully, conservationists could soon have a high-tech way to find even the hardest-to-see animals.

Scientists are using drones equipped with specialized cameras that sense infrared light to survey areas for wildlife. The cameras pick up invisible heat energy given off by animals and convert it into colorized digital images people can see. In the images, hotter objects—like rhinos, for example—appear brighter than their cooler surroundings.

These cameras can detect animals at night and through dense vegetation, giving scientists the most accurate information about animal populations. “You can’t conserve endangered [animals] if you don’t know how many there are,” says Claire Burke, a researcher at Liverpool John Moores University in England developing the technology.