A drone recently caught a huge pride of lions swimming across a river in Uganda, in a feat that made its way into the Guiness Book of Records.

The unique event was recorded by a team led by Dr Alexander Braczkowski, a renowned big cat biologist and wildlife filmmaker. The team’s deployment of cutting-edge drone technology is revolutionising wildlife conservation efforts in the east African country, particularly in monitoring and protecting the African lion.

“Recently, we documented a Guinness World Record of lions swimming across the Kazinga Channel. Without drones, capturing such footage would not have been possible,” says Dr. Braczkowski.

During the unprecedented swim, the team was able to capture the great feat with DJI’s Zenmuse H20T camera, a predecessor to the latest Zenmuse H30T model.

But after their experience, the operators realised the need for higher thermal and night vision capabilities, hence the upgrade to the Zenmuse H30T.

The team has been using the drones as a novel way of tracking wildlife for research purposes; and the technology has taken conservation efforts to a new level; enabling the researchers to overcome the challenges of traditional lion tracking methods and to capture unprecedented footage of these majestic animals.

“We have teams searching for lions every single day, identifying them using photographic whisker spot patterns and measuring distances travelled to get accurate counts,” explains Dr. Braczkowski.

“However, the ground-based approach is nearly impossible in some terrains, which is why we turned to aerial photography.”

Usually mounted on DJI’s enterprise-grade drones like the Matrice 300, 350 and others, the Zenmuse H30T wide angle camera comes with enhanced resolution capabilities, which include a fourfold increase in image clarity, allowing for more detailed and accurate monitoring, particularly during night time operations.

“We can now see the details in the wrinkles of an elephant’s ears or the texture of their skin at night, which has been a game changer for our work,” Dr. Braczkowski says.

The aerial photography allows Dr. Braczkowski and his team to track lions from the sky, offering a clear and comprehensive view of their movements, hunting patterns, and even rare behaviours like swimming across crocodile-infested waters.

Dr. Braczkowski’s team has perfected the art of working with drone technology, having used a wide variety of DJI products, over the years; from the early DJI Mavic models to the advanced Matrice series.

But it is the Zenmuse H30T that has significantly literally and figuratively enhanced their capabilities, opening new frontiers in lion conservation and enabling the team to achieve higher production quality in their wildlife documentaries and storytelling projects.

For these researchers, the benefits of drones extend beyond just capturing breath-taking footage; the drones are also vital in identifying new lions and observing critical behaviours such as mating and hunting, which would otherwise be impossible to document due to dense vegetation.

More importantly, the use of drones can support anti-poaching efforts by detecting illegal activities such as poaching and unauthorized fishing in these protected wilderness areas.

“The potential of drone technology is not just limited to wildlife photography and film. It also holds promise for security applications in places like East Africa and Uganda, where there are no fences.

“This technology is crucial for detecting illegal activities, ensuring the safety and preservation of wildlife.”

Uganda is home to several national parks where lions roam free, including the iconic Queen Elizabeth National Park, known for its unique tree-climbing lions.

Wildlife researchers used to struggle to keep pace with these lions, as traditional ground-based tracking methods face significant limitations due to the dense and thorny vegetation, particularly in the Acacia Sickle Bush Thickets where many lions reside.

Before the drones, the difficulty of navigating these environments would hamper the ability of researchers to consistently monitor lion populations, observe their behaviour, and collect critical data on their health and status.

“Our collaboration with DJI has been instrumental in advancing our research and conservation efforts,” says Dr. Braczkowski.

“The improved resolution and the ability to operate at night have provided us with insights that were previously unattainable.”

Dr. Braczkowski is a big cat biologist and wildlife filmmaker whose work has been featured in leading media outlets such as National Geographic, Disney+, and The New York Times.

He has been working in the wildlife research and conservation space for the past fifteen years and is a dedicated advocate for big cat preservation and an innovator in the use of technology for environmental research.