Using drone-borne thermal infrared cameras to monitor moose in Scandinavia

We evaluated the use of a drone equipped with a thermal infrared camera as a tool to monitor moose (<i>Alces alces</i>) in Scandinavia’s boreal forest. We first investigated the factors affecting moose detection probability, and then estimated local moose population density, comparing these results with pellet count estimates. We conducted 33 drone flights over GPS-collared moose to assess detectability under varying conditions, followed by 34 grid flights to estimate local moose density.