'Doug To The Rescue': Drone Pilot Saves Animals In Global Disaster Zones

Douglas Thron was a cinematographer on a film about animal rescue when he was inspired by the use of an infrared scope to find cats after fires.

Using a high-tech drone equipped with a large thermal camera, one remote pilot has developed a way to save animals trapped under rubble or stuck in trees in disaster zones. Douglas Thron was a cinematographer on a film about animal rescue when he was inspired by the use of an infrared scope to find cats after fires. "I thought, 'Imagine if we put this infrared scope on a drone, how many more animals you could actually find'," said Thron in California's Tujunga Canyon, where he was demonstrating the use of his drone. The drone - which also has a spotlight and a zoom lens - has the advantage of not making loud noises that could distress animals, and can pinpoint injured or stranded creatures much faster than conventional techniques.