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Ken Balcomb and Deborah Giles from the Center for Whale Research plus Darren Croft from Exeter University talk about a project to use drones to collect data about the Southern Resident Killer Whales.

Drones will be used to discover more about the social lives of killer whales and help conserve these amazing mammals that are at risk of extinction.

It is already known that family social structures are critically important in helping whales survive at a time when their population is critically endangered. Experts at the Universities of Exeter, York and the Center for Whale Research have been able to observe these relationships during fleeting glimpses of the whales when they surface for a breath. Their work to find the reasons for long post-reproductive life will be featured on a BBC documentary today.

Now the researchers want to collect new data about how whales interact with each other. Using drones will give them a birds-eye view of social behaviour, allowing them to see how whales support each other. It will show which whales in a group share food, intervene during conflict and babysit. This information will allow the researchers to understand which social behaviour helps whale reproductive success, and make more accurate predictions for their health and survival.