00:00A standard drone wouldn't be able to detect anything hidden in the grass, but a more sophisticated
00:12one makes it possible to identify deer sheltering in fields.
00:16That's what these volunteers from Switzerland's Fawn Rescue Foundation are meeting at dawn
00:20to do.
00:21They're helping rescue fawns from heavy machinery during harvesting, which coincides with deer
00:26birthing season.
00:30A deer gives birth between the beginning of May and mid-July.
00:37They give birth in grassy fields adjacent to forests, so our role is to fly over the
00:54edge of the woods and farmland that's near forests.
01:01The team uses drones fitted with thermal imaging cameras to find the fawns.
01:06The problem is that the female deer hides her offspring in fields with high grass, then
01:11leaves them there while she goes foraging for food.
01:15They remain completely still until she returns, not even moving when huge agricultural machines
01:20approach and end up injured or killed.
01:25The volunteers work closely with farmers.
01:33We plan our interventions ahead, when we receive a request from the farmer.
01:39He gives us the land register number of his field so we know exactly where to go.
01:48Once the rescuers have located the animals hiding in the grass, they place a wooden crate
01:53on it to alert the farmer to its position.
01:58When we put the crate on the fawn, which is very young and still, it won't move.
02:05We then mark the position of the cage with a flag, so the farmer can maneuver around
02:12it when he harvests.
02:18When he's done, he removes the crate and the fawn stays put until its mother comes
02:24back for it.
02:31Thousands of fawns are killed in Switzerland by harvesting machines each year during mowing
02:36season, but this initiative is helping keep them alive.
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