Hidden in long grass, fawns do exactly what nature taught them to do. They freeze. In Germany’s mowing season, that instinct can turn deadly.
A wildlife rescue group in Bavaria is using thermal imaging drones to find and remove vulnerable fawns from meadows before mowing begins. The group, Rehkitz-Rettung Mangfalltal, was founded in 2020.
Every spring, thousands of fawns are killed by mowing machinery across Germany. Baby deer freeze when threatened, a defense mechanism that protects them from predators but leaves them exposed to farm equipment.
The group previously searched on foot, with volunteers walking through meadows in lines. The work was highly labor-intensive for the volunteer-run organisation.
Now the group uses DJI drones with thermal imaging to locate hidden animals faster before mowing starts. According to the case study, the drone’s AI features help pilots spot fawns, baby hares and ground-nesting birds.
Since adding drone technology to its workflow, the group’s annual number of rescued fawns has risen from 10 to 15 in earlier years to between 300 and 350.
In the case study, operators used the Matrice 4 Series’ precision positioning controls to identify heat signatures in vegetation, check them visually and guide ground teams to the exact location.
When the thermal camera detects a heat source, the drone pins its location with centimetre-level accuracy using GPS and shares it instantly with the ground team.
The case study also includes a step-by-step video guide showing drone operations from an altitude of 80 to 100 metres and how rescuers handle fawns once they are found.
The volunteers and drone pilots allow farmers to proceed with mowing after fields have been cleared of hidden animals.
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