Drones to drop medicine-laced M&Ms for endangered ferrets

Drones are planned to be employed in distributing M&Ms laced with medicine to help save the endangered black-foored ferret. Image INQUIRER.net

There are more uses to be found for drones than just catching Pokémon. One of these is distributing medicine to endangered real life ferrets via air drops.

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The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) plans to employ drones to help dispense M&M chocolates covered with anti-sylvatic plague vaccine-laced peanut butter to save the black-footed ferret population in rural Montana, Tech Crunch reports.

These ferrets are currently endangered due to the sylvatic plague infecting their primary food source, prairie dogs.

The drones would be fitted with dispensers that could fire out baits every 9-10 meters while flying in a pre-determined route. Private contractors would pilot the dispensation drones.

While the plan has not yet been implemented, it is expected to significantly contribute to the efforts of wildlife biologists currently working on the ferret case. Alfred Bayle