[jacamar]

As far as professional guides are concerned, I have been on a few guided trips within and outside North America and have mixed feelings. Some guides are very responsible and protective of wildlife and habitat, whereas others will go to great lengths to get you close to the creature and you wonder how close is too close, or how much disturbance (recorded calls etc.) is too much. Recently I showed a Canadian guide a pic I had taken of a bird on a nest and he immediately responded "you were too close!" (the bird showed no signs of stress while we were there as far as I could tell). In my experience birds and other wildlife are very variable in their tolerance of your presence and the amount of disturbance they are subjected to. If they are preoccupied with feeding, for example, they will often approach you much more closely than you would be able to approach them in other circumstances. Informed good judgement is worth more than several volumes of guidelines and regulations that would be hard to enforce anyway.
When there is pressure on public funds you wonder whether licencing measures are intended to derive income, and how much of that income would be spent on enforcement and protection. There's an issue in our larger Ontario provincial parks that it's the voluntary "friends" organizations that build the boardwalks, trails etc. that bring the folks into the park, but it's the provincial government that takes your money at the gate and maybe doesn't contribute much to infrastructure. These things are complicated..

[cmf3]

Six seconds of looking around...
Flying your drone safely and legally - Transport Canada

But I think that’s about the same as five more southern seconds

-Eric

In defense of the photographer, he may have been in full compliance with the federal regulations you cited. From the article, it appears he was in violation of a territorial regulation. I guess this is a good reminder to be in compliance with federal, state, and local laws and ordinances.

I would like to point out how reasonable both the photographer and the authorities appeared in this case. I lived in Canada for nearly six years and love the people and the culture.

[WPRESTO]

The "Lone Cypress" at Pebble Beach Golf Course on the Monterrey Peninsula was adopted as a copyrighted logo by the gold club in 1919. Sometime in the later 20th century they decided that the copyright also extended to the tree itself, so you cannot photograph it for commercial purpose nor a make a profit from a photograph of it without paying a fee, or contracting to give a %, or something of that sort.

[swanlefitte]

New article came out.
On drones, "A well-known 2015 study documented the effect of drones on the heart rates of black bears in Minnesota. Though there were no outward signs of stress, bears’ heart rates rose as much as 123 beats per minute above the pre-flight baseline when a drone was present. "
https://www.google.com/amp/s/relay.nationalgeographic.com/proxy/distribution...fe-photography

[WPRESTO]

rose as much as 123 beats per minute above the pre-flight baseline when a drone was present. "

Are you sure that isn't rose TO 123 beats/minute? Rising 123 beats above base rate is a lot.

[swanlefitte]

Are you sure that isn't rose TO 123 beats/minute? Rising 123 beats above base rate is a lot.

I quote the article. I know nothing about bear cardiovascular systems. Perhaps that isn't much. Maybe fake news?

[swanlefitte]

The study from a link within a link in the article.
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(15)00827-1?_returnU...showall%3Dtrue
"

Bears responded to UAV flights with elevated HRs in all 17 flights with corresponding HR data (Figure S1). We calculated the “maximum HR anomaly” for bears by comparing the observed differences between maximum bear HRs and predicted values during UAV flights (see Figure 2A for brief description or Experimental Procedures for full description). The maximum HR anomalies associated with UAV flight times were significantly higher than the maximum HR anomalies during days without flights (Figure 2B). Maximum HR anomalies were the largest for the female with cubs, followed by the hibernating adult female, and finally the young male (Figure 2C). The maximum difference between observed and predicted HR values during UAV flights was 123 bpm for a female with cubs (Figure S2), 56 bpm for the hibernating adult female, and 47 bpm for the 1-year-old male. Bear HRs recovered after the completion of every UAV flight to within the 99% confidence interval associated with HRs 30 min prior to a given flight, with median recovery times of 10 min (range: 2–204 min), 16 min (range: 4–20 min), and 5 min (range: 4–6 min) for the female with cubs of the year, hibernating adult female, and young male, respectively. These durations in HR elevations were likely associated with sympathetic activations of catecholamine releases from the adrenal glands (e.g., [26])."
Edit cut down. Posted too much info.

---

Last edited by swanlefitte; 07-31-2019 at 06:51 PM.

[WPRESTO]

That is really a lot of increase in heart rate over the base level. For me, with a base HR of around 65 (55 after sitting for some time) that would be 188 b/m, way past what I'm capable of (155~160 b/m briefly, 145~150 b/m sustained) and above anything I measured when much younger (max I can recall about 170~175 b/m). FYI: I did some searching and depending on species, a bear's base HR is about 55 b/m, slightly lower than average for humans as would be expected considering the larger average body mass of bears (grizzlies are bigger than and have slower heart rates than black bears), but still, pumping that up to 178 b/m as a consequence of psychology is pretty scary. BTW, during hibernation or "winter sleep" a bear's heart rate will drop to 10~14 b/m, but will jump up to the mid 50's after a few deep breaths = literally in a moment.

.

The study from a link within a link in the article.
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(15)00827-1?_returnU...showall%3Dtrue
"

Bears responded to UAV flights with elevated HRs in all 17 flights with corresponding HR data (Figure S1). We calculated the “maximum HR anomaly” for bears by comparing the observed differences between maximum bear HRs and predicted values during UAV flights (see Figure 2A for brief description or Experimental Procedures for full description). The maximum HR anomalies associated with UAV flight times were significantly higher than the maximum HR anomalies during days without flights (Figure 2B). Maximum HR anomalies were the largest for the female with cubs, followed by the hibernating adult female, and finally the young male (Figure 2C). The maximum difference between observed and predicted HR values during UAV flights was 123 bpm for a female with cubs (Figure S2), 56 bpm for the hibernating adult female, and 47 bpm for the 1-year-old male. Bear HRs recovered after the completion of every UAV flight to within the 99% confidence interval associated with HRs 30 min prior to a given flight, with median recovery times of 10 min (range: 2–204 min), 16 min (range: 4–20 min), and 5 min (range: 4–6 min) for the female with cubs of the year, hibernating adult female, and young male, respectively. These durations in HR elevations were likely associated with sympathetic activations of catecholamine releases from the adrenal glands (e.g., [26])."
Edit cut down. Posted too much info.

[Wheatfield]

That is really a lot of increase in heart rate over the base level. For me, with a base HR of around 65 (55 after sitting for some time) that would be 188 b/m, way past what I'm capable of (155~160 b/m briefly, 145~150 b/m sustained) and above anything I measured when much younger (max I can recall about 170~175 b/m).

.

Yes well, that’s because you are a frail old man, not a young and vibrant bear.

[WPRESTO]

--- you are a frail old man,-----

[swanlefitte]

2 take always for me by the drone study are.
1 people's judgement of what is ok is not to be trusted. I can't see any harm doesn't mean I am not doing harm. It means I am ignorant of harm and I have no business being there.
2 a bears cubs are everything to a mother bear.

[Wheatfield]

Aww. Come one, it was a joke. Why not give me a like for it?

[normhead]

Because when you are old and frail, it isn't funny.

Sheesh, do I have to explain everything?

On another note, I have two 13s in my like total at the moment. Hopefully one is gone before Friday.

I ain't superstitious.

[WPRESTO]

Aww. Come one, it was a joke.

ha - - ha - - ha. I am not sensitive about my age, I just reserve the right to make all comments and jokes about it.

And the original response, as well as this one, are both jokes, as to some people, so am I

[brewmaster15]

Since the conversation has shifted alittle here...If drones have that kind of effect on bears heart rates I wonder what other human mediated disturbances do to wild life in general ? Things like...

*Quads and dirt bikes in the forest
*Jet skis in coastal areas and river /lake system


AL