Business & Tech

Monrovia-Made Drone Used to Spy on Pygmy Rabbits

Drones made by Aerovironment was used to analyze the habitat of pygmy rabbits.

Spy drones made by a Monrovia company were used by the U.S. Geological Survey to examine the habitats of pygmy rabbits, the organization reports.

The Raven unmanned aircraft, produced by Aerovironment, was used to take images of the changing habitats of the rabbits in 2011 and the data will be considered by public agencies in making land use decisions.

"Pygmy rabbits dig extensive burrow systems, which are also used by other animals. Loss of habitat is a direct threat to this species , which depends on big sagebrush, particularly mature stands of it," the USGS website states. "The rabbit's habitat has become increasingly fragmented by development, agriculture, rangeland 'improvements' for example, projects that replace big sagebrush with bunchgrasses and by fire."

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here