Thermal drones are helping to monitor some of Australia’s most elusive wildlife

Our drones detected all nine of the arboreal (tree-dwelling) mammals we expected to see in the study area.

This included species commonly seen using spotlighting, but also animals usually detected using remote cameras like Leadbeater’s Possums, or through their calls, like the Yellow-Bellied Glider.

In total, we made more than 1000 observations of native mammals, as well as forest birds and ground-dwelling animals like bandicoots, wombats, feral deer and cats.

Our study also showed us the limitations of traditional spotlighting.