Researchers from the University of Minnesota have determined that unmanned aerial vehicles used to study bears and other animals at a distance have a decided influence on the heart rate of bears and may be detrimental. Bears that have been studied and tracked with unmanned aerial vehicles appear to tolerate the intrusion into “bear space” well but the new study shows the bears experience an extremely elevated heart rate when they see an unmanned aerial vehicle that the bears perceive as a UFO.
A test group of free-roaming American black bears living in northwestern Minnesota were fitted with collars that included cardiac biologgers and satellite GPS monitors. The biologgers reported the bear’s heart rates every two minutes to a central computer. The researchers released unmanned aerial vehicles near the test bears for short intervals. The presence of unmanned aerial vehicles elevated bear heart rates as much as 400 percent. The unmanned aerial vehicle flights lasted only five minutes and the bear’s heart rates quickly returned to normal. Elevated heart rates are a sign of distress in bears.
All of the test flights showed an increase in bear heart rate but only 11 percent of the flights caused the bears to change their behavior. The research is the first to show a defined pattern of physiological response in animals in response to observation with unmanned aerial vehicles. The study led the researchers to propose further tests aimed at investigating the long-term effects of unmanned aerial vehicles on animals. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles to observe animals saves time and provides safety for researchers and animals but a new protocol may be necessary to prevent UFOs from harming animals.
