Dr. Fearnbach and colleagues recently received funding to continue their project Monitoring the Nutritional Health of Southern Resident Killer Whales from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and partners. This study will continue using unmanned multi-copter drones to measure the body condition, growth and pregnancy rates of endangered Southern Resident killer whales. Results will be relayed to management agencies in both the U.S. and Canada to help support management solutions for maintaining an adequate food supply for this endangered population.
Aerial image of the J31 and her young calf J56 from the Southern Resident killer whale population. Image was collected by SR3 and NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center in September 2019 using an unmanned octocopter flown non-invasively >100ft above the whales under NMFS permit #19091.