Finding Koalas
In July 2022, we met CSIRO officer John McEvoy at a National Koala Monitoring Program workshop at Kooroongarra, south of Millmerran. John showed us CSIRO’s Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced thermal drone that he had been trialling in his koala & wildlife surveys across eastern Australia.
We have maintained contact with John McEvoy and researched the latest developments in drone technology for detecting wildlife, in particular koalas.
The project has purchased a new Mavic 3T Enterprise thermal drone for our proposed koala detection work.
The Mavic 3T drone weighs in at 899grams. The Mavic 3T gimbal houses 3 camera lens - a wide angle, a telephoto and an infra red thermal lens.
The Hasselblad wide angle camera lens is 24mm with a 22MP sensor; an aperture from f/2.8 to f/11; an 84º FOV (field of view) and ISO from 100 - 6400 for both still and video images.
The telephoto camera lens is 162mm with a 1/2 inch CMOS sensor; an aperture from f/4.4; a 15º FOV (field of view) and the same ISO from 100 - 6400 for both still and video images.
The thermal camera has 640 x 512 px resolution; 40mm Equivalent Focal Length; 61° DFOV (Screen Field of View) and supports point and area temperature measurement, high temperature alerts, colour palettes, and isotherms.
The drone has an individual battery (4) life of 40-46 minutes; a maximum flight distance of 30kms and 6,400m - but obviously has to continue to be operated in operator line of sight.
We have also purchased significant accessories including additional batteries, an in-field external monitor, a UHF radio, ground lighting and operators vests and signage.
Wide angle image of Geham trees with no apparent koalas
Same view of centre tree with telephoto lens
Same view with infra red image showing mum & Bub in central tree
Our initial drone early morning operation trials have been extremely encouraging. We are now developing our proposed methodology to enable us to operate the drone effectively to achieve the desired project outcomes.
CSRIO have provided their drone operation methodology that we are reviewing in line with our project goals.
At this stage, we see the thermal drone’s primary use will be to confirm landholder reports of the presence of koalas on a particular property for area.
Landholders often see the presence of koalas over months or years across their property. During mating season, they may hear koalas bellowing at night. Once these reports are received and reviewed we would seek the permission of all landholders to bring in the drone to verify and map the presence of koalas across the landscape.
This mapping should then assist us to determine wildlife corridors and possible eucalyptus planting sites.