Drone Becomes a Long Whip: One Person Herds 1,200 Sheep

Original title: Grassland Herders Use Drones to Herd Sheep

Some people abroad use drones to herd sheep (file photo from the internet)

Using an aircraft to herd sheep was undoubtedly something herder Saiyinbayaer, who was used to holding a sheep whip, would never have dared to imagine. Yet it has truly become a reality.

One morning not long ago, in his own yard in Bulige Gacha, Abag Banner, Inner Mongolia, herder Saiyinbayaer gently pressed the remote control with his thumb, and the drone immediately took off and flew straight into the depths of the grassland. In the past, this would have been the time when he had to go to the pasture himself to herd the sheep.

"Now I don't need to hire a shepherd, which saves 45,000 yuan a year, and together with the fuel cost for the motorcycle, that's more than 50,000 yuan saved." It was clear that Saiyinbayaer was very satisfied and happy.

A few minutes later, on the display screen of the drone's aerial photography equipment, his flock was grazing leisurely on the pasture, and even the ear tag on each sheep could be seen very clearly.

Saiyinbayaer's family has more than 1,200 sheep, and he is the only laborer. By chance at the end of last year, he saw someone using aerial drone photography to count the number of livestock for the pastoral year, which gave him an idea: "Could an aerial photography drone be used to herd sheep?" He checked online and consulted specialists, and in February this year spent more than 10,000 yuan to buy this small drone.

According to him, "This drone has a controllable radius of up to 10 km, which is more than enough to monitor his own flock. After a full charge it can fly for more than 3 hours, and when the battery runs out it can fly back on its own. It is very simple to use." Even when he is not at home, even his elderly mother can operate it. Next, he is thinking that if a loudspeaker device is also installed on the drone, it could complete all the work of driving the flock out of the pen every morning, herding them on the grassland, and driving them back to the pen in the evening. (Reporter Zhang Wusi)