Drones and Camera Traps Protect Desmans and Musk Oxen in Russia
Digital technologies are helping preserve the fragile balance of wildlife.
The Prisursky Zapovednik (Prisursky Nature Reserve), the main guardian of southern taiga forests and relict steppe ecosystems in Russia’s Chuvash Republic, has marked its 30th anniversary. Established in 1995 to protect the Russian desman, the reserve has since become a refuge for nearly 5,000 species of plants and animals at the boundary of two natural zones. Protecting such a vast and sensitive area is a challenge, and staff have increasingly turned to digital technologies for support.
Monitoring People and Wildlife
Inspector patrols are now carried out with the help of quadcopter drones. The unmanned aircraft can cover large areas in a short time and detect potential fire outbreaks. In addition, camera traps equipped with memory cards, batteries, and external antennas have been installed across the reserve. They allow specialists to quickly identify violations of protection rules, particularly during high-risk fire seasons.
The use of advanced technologies has already proven effective. No destructive fires have been recorded in the area since 2022.
Beyond fire prevention, drones and camera traps also play a key role in wildlife monitoring. They provide researchers with valuable data on population dynamics and the overall condition of ecosystems in protected areas.
Ear Tags and “Passports” for Leopards
Similar practices are being introduced across Russia. In the Central Forest Nature Reserve in the Tver region, artificial intelligence is now used to monitor animals. Camera traps capture images that are processed by neural networks, which identify species and estimate population numbers.
A comparable system operates in Zemlya Leoparda National Park (Land of the Leopard) in Russia’s Primorye region, where AI helps scientists identify individual tigers and leopards by their stripe and spot patterns.
In Ingilor Natural Park in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area, researchers have gone a step further by tagging musk oxen with electronic ear tags. Easy to install and use, the tags allow information to be read remotely via a dedicated app and stored in a centralized database.
In this way, scientists have delegated routine, repetitive tasks to artificial intelligence, freeing up time for research and discovery. Early detection of fires also enables rapid response to emergencies.
Russia’s experience offers a clear example of how digital technologies can help safeguard the delicate world of wildlife.
