谷歌出资赞助濒危物种保护
Drones could soon be helping protect rhinos, tigers and elephants in Africa and Asia, thanks to cash from Google.
得益于谷歌的资金援助，无人机很快将用于保护非洲与亚洲的犀牛、老虎和大象。
Controlled via a tablet computer, the small autonomous aircraft will photograph poachers（偷猎者） and track animals via smart radio tags.
The World Wildlife Fund added the $5m grant would also fund software that could map where poachers strike.
And it was developing a mobile DNA sampling kit to match body parts with animals.
The WWF said poaching and trafficking of body parts was having a devastating effect on the wild populations of some species, setting back decades long conservation efforts.
The past 12 months have seen a significant rise in attacks on some animals, such as rhinos.
In five years the number of rhinos killed in South Africa has risen from 13 to 588, according to statistics from Traffic, which monitors the trade in endangered animal parts.
WWF president Carter Roberts said: "We face an unprecedented poaching crisis. The killings are way up.
"We need solutions that are as sophisticated as the threats we face.
"This pushes the envelope in the fight against wildlife crime."
Google gave the WWF the cash as part of its Global Impact Award programme.
The first round of these awards handed out $23m to seven separate organisations.