People aren’t the only ones threatened by drones invading their privacy, as spate of attacks caught on camera shows wildlife fighting back

Remarkable footage of an eagle attacking and disabling a drone has taken the internet by storm, but it illustrates that drones can distress animals as much as they annoy humans.



The drone was attacked by the Australian wedge-tailed eagle over woodland in the greater Melbourne area, sending it tumbling to the ground, as it saw the drone as a threat.

Wedge-tailed eagles can fly at altitudes of up to 6,000 feet and are highly territorial. They have attacked helicopters and paragliders that have entered their airspace and have now added drones to their list of targets.

Adam Lancaster, operator of the drone, said that the eagle appeared fine after the confrontation, but that the drone required repairing before being able to fly again.

“Do not fly drones near birds of prey. They clearly attack, seeing you as a threat or the right-sized dinner. If you see a bird of prey while flying. Land,” said Lancaster.

This isn’t the first instance of an eagle attacking a drone. A glider equipped with an autopilot designed to test flight mimicking the slope and soaring of birds by researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology was attacked and carried off by an eagle in May 2014.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Eagle attacks and disables an autonomous glider.

The US National Park Service implemented a ban on drones flying over national parks in June 2014 after a successful trial of the policy in Yosemite national park in California in May that year.

“Drones can have negative impacts on wildlife nearby the area of use, especially sensitive nesting peregrine falcons on cliff walls ... creating an environment that is not conducive to wilderness travel,” the National Park Service said.

Birds aren’t the only animals who have attacked drones for invading their space. An eastern grey kangaroo attacked a flying drone that was nearing a joey after feeling threatened by its presence, permanently disabling the drone and sending it crashing to the ground in Australia’s Hunter Valley.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kangaroo attacks drone.

A chimpanzee has also been caught on camera within Burgers’ Zoo in the Netherlands hitting a drone out of the sky and permanently disabling it using a stick. The chimpanzee then inspected the downed drone with other great apes. The drone was being used to record routine footage by the zoo operators.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Chimpanzee attacks drone.

The proliferation of cheap and readily available drones for personal and commercial use has raised privacy and safety concerns as they have left the law outdated – and have caused several near-misses with commercial aircraft.

The rules on flying drones within populated areas are strict within the UK. Current UK legislation dictates that drones cannot be flown within 50m of a building or a person or within 150 metres of a built-up area. The maximum flight height is also only 400 feet, while the drone has to remain in line of sight and within 500 metres of the pilot, which has restricted attempts to use drones for delivery or surveillance purposes.

Pilots must complete a training course and apply for a permit from the Civil Aviation Authority to fly the drone for commercial purposes.

In the US, rules on drone flights are under review, fuelled by companies such as Amazon and Google looking to use them for deliveries. The US Federal Aviation Authority is seeking to enable safe but regulated commercial drone flights.

Their impact on wildlife – where drones are often used to capture footage for nature documentaries – will need to be taken into account within new flight regulations.

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