A survey of drone pilots and their experiences of drone-wildlife interactions

As an emergent technology, commonly applied in various fields of work and recreation, drone usage is increasing and drone-wildlife interactions are likely to increase in frequency and occurrence. These interactions can have adverse consequences for drones (e.g., damage or loss due to aggressive wildlife behaviour) and/or for wildlife (e.g., injury, disturbance). This study aims to understand: 1) the nature of drone flights, 2) the extent and occurrence of wildlife-drone interactions, and 3) how drone pilots perceive and manage these interactions, including their perceptions of the acceptability of candidate management solutions. Commercial, conservation and recreational pilots (n = 285) were classified by the nature of their flights (four types were defined via cluster analysis: ‘free fliers’, ‘route free fliers’, ‘diverse systematic fliers’, ‘grid fliers’), which differed in median flight speed (highest in diverse systematic fliers) and the number and assemblage of sensors fitted (higher/more diverse for diverse systematic fliers). Drone-wildlife interactions were common (81.0 % of respondents encountered wildlife during their flying careers, which were 1 – 39,000 hours of flight), with 17.8 % experiencing drone collision with wildlife. Pilot flight experience influenced the likelihood of collision with wildlife, with the more hours spent flying, the higher the risk of physical contact between a pilot’s drone and wildlife. Pilots were generally supportive of most candidate management solutions to manage drone-wildlife interactions (83.0 %), however, this support was mediated by underlying values and beliefs, indexed by the Wildlife Value Orientations (WVO) and Inclusion of Nature in Self (INS) scales. Specifically, the more a pilot scored on the mutualism dimension of WVO, and the more connected they were to nature (INS scale), the more likely they were supportive of a variety of management solutions to drone-wildlife interactions. The broad level of support for management among 4 most pilots, and the widespread experience of interactions with wildlife, suggests pilots may
be amenable to codes of conduct which minimise drone-wildlife interactions.