Is Hazing Wolves with Drones the Solution for Western Ranchers?

As gray wolf populations rebound across the American West, conflicts with livestock ranchers have surged. As small communities and ranchers alike struggle with their newfound ranch inhabitants, pleas for help have come from local ranchers, sheriff’s departments and towns who, in some cases, are feeling overrun by transplanted wolves and are desperately looking for solutions.

With wolves protected under the Endangered Species Act in many areas, lethal control is often restricted, leaving researchers and ranchers to explore non-lethal solutions. A study, published in 2024, went ahead and investigated a new and innovative approach to dealing with wolves on expansive ranches. With the help of some high-tech equipment, researchers used specially-equipped drones to see whether they could effectively haze wolves and deter them from cattle. While the initial results seem promising, this high-tech method still faces questions regarding its practicality and long-term effectiveness, but could be an option for some ranchers moving forward.

In 2022, researchers from the USDA’s Wildlife Services, led by Dustin Ranglack, conducted a trial in Oregon’s Klamath Basin to test drones as a non-lethal tool for reducing wolf-livestock conflicts. The study focused on a ranch with a history of wolf depredations, where cattle grazed across vast, rugged terrain. The team deployed drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras and speakers to monitor grazing areas at night, when wolves are most active, and attempted to haze wolves away from livestock.

The drones’ thermal cameras detected wolves’ heat signatures, allowing researchers to pinpoint their location even under the blanket of darkness. When wolves approached cattle, pilots used the drones’ speakers to broadcast human voices, shouting statements like “Hey wolf, get out of here!” to scare them off. In later tests, they experimented with other sounds, including AC/DC music and dialogue from Marriage Story. The goal was to disrupt wolf behavior and prevent attacks without harming the animals, offering a scalable alternative to traditional methods like ground patrols, flashing lights, or guard dogs.

The results were striking. Over a 20-day period before the drone intervention, the ranch recorded 11 confirmed cattle kills by wolves, averaging 0.55 kills per night. Once the drone hazing began, depredations plummeted. Over the next 85 days, only two cattle were killed, reducing the rate to 0.024 kills per night, resulting in a 96% decrease. The team documented 51 wolf-drone interactions, including a notable case where a drone interrupted an active wolf attack on a steer, which the animal miraculously survived with only minor injuries.

Ranchers involved in the trial reported significant relief. The drones’ ability to cover large areas quickly outperformed ground-based hazing, where vehicles or foot patrols struggled to keep up with wolves’ speed and stealth. The thermal imaging also gave ranchers a clearer picture of wolf activity, enabling faster responses. For a region where wolf attacks had strained ranching operations, the trial offered a glimmer of hope that technology could ease tensions between conservation and agriculture.

Despite its success, the drone hazing program faces several hurdles that could limit its widespread adoption. As far as costs go, these types of drones mark a substantial investment for ranchers, varying in prices between $5,000 and $18,000, depending on how each one is equipped. For many ranchers, especially small-scale operators, the expense is most certainly prohibitive.  

Researchers also caution that wolves may grow accustomed to drones over time, reducing their effectiveness. In early tests, wolves showed playful behaviors, like adopting a “downward dog” pose, when drones lacked audio cues. While human voices triggered stronger flight responses, consistent exposure could desensitize wolves, requiring new sounds or tactics to maintain deterrence. There are also problems with battery life in aerial drones, with each charge only allowing for a hair over 20 minutes in flight time, many worry about the disruption that multiple battery changes might have on overall programming.

There are also concerns over displacement as well. Acting as somewhat of a leaf blower, the concerns are that those hazed from one ranch will find a home on a neighboring ranch that might be without a sophisticated drone-hazing program in place.

While the study certainly demonstrates that drones can significantly reduce wolf-livestock conflicts, high costs, operational challenges, and unanswered questions about long-term efficacy and wolf displacement point to the fact that they are not a rotor-propelled silver bullet. Ongoing research is exploring autonomous drones with AI to detect wolves and alert ranchers, as well as expanding testing in other states like Wyoming and Colorado.

For Western ranchers, drone hazing does represent a step toward coexistence with wolves, but until costs drop, habituation is addressed, and scalability improves, it remains an experimental solution. One that sparks hope but demands a whole lot more in terms of refinement. 

As the debate over wolf management continues, drones may ultimately play a role, but it remains unlikely that they’ll fully resolve the clash between wolves and ranching in the American West.