USDA drone patrols reduced cattle deaths from 11 in 20 days to two over 85 days.
1. Let's Science covers drone-based wolf control near the California-Oregon border, combining thermal cameras, loudspeakers, and non-lethal hazing. 2. Hosts Lino and Caroline's co-host discuss the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service project, which matters because protected wolves and livestock occupy the same ranching areas. 3. The episode's central question is whether unpredictable drone noise can interrupt wolf hunts without killing wolves or abandoning cattle protection. 4. Operators play ACDC's "Thunderstruck," gunshots, fireworks, movie clips, and live human shouts when thermal cameras detect wolves near cattle. 5. Project lead Dustin Rangelak describes reducing the negative impacts of wolves so livestock producers and wolf populations can coexist. 6. A 2022 preliminary study reported cattle deaths dropping from 11 in 20 days to two over 85 days. 7. The Klamath Basin report says wolves had been chronic depredators since 2016, while southwest Oregon protections limited management to non-lethal methods. 8. The episode notes that gray wolves rebounded after reintroduction in Yellowstone and Idaho during the 1990s, with hundreds in Washington and Oregon and dozens in Northern California. 9. Wolves reportedly killed roughly 800 domestic animals across 10 states in 2022, while the researchers still identify cost, habituation, applicability, and long-term benefits as open questions. 10. Listeners interested in wildlife science, conservation, and unusual technology.
