Being apex predators of the air make eagles rather territorial of the sky.
That's precisely what Dutch police are preying on, training eagles how to snatch drones out of the air, as reported by Spectrum.IEEE.org.
While the Federal Aviation Administration's mandatory drone registration — put into effect in mid-December 2015 — will certainly help limit pilots from misusing their quadcopters, there are bound to be those owners who use their drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for negative or dangerous purposes.
That's why the Dutch National Police are training eagles to take down dangerous drones, releasing a video clip showing the apex predators scooping the machines right out of the air as if the quadcopters were prey.
While Dutch police are training eagles to physically intercept drones in midflight out of the sky, they're also testing electronic solutions for dangerous aircrafts, according to Spectrum.IEEE.org.
The website reports that the Dutch police are collaborating with the Guard From Above, a raptor-training organization in Denmark, to specifically train eagles to react to drones and deliver them back to a safety area.
While such a practice would probably never be allowed in the United States — due to concerns to protect eagles and the wear and tear that they would endure by constantly having to grab drones out of the air — Dutch police will continue testing this practice, before deciding on a more permanent way of preventing pesky drones.
