Drone allows researchers to count 64,000 green sea turtles

Researchers have pioneered a new way of calculating the large green sea turtle population on Raine Island in the Great Barrier Reef.

Using drones and a stripe of white paint on the back of adult turtles, the researchers from the Raine Island Recovery Project estimated there were 64,000 endangered green turtles at the Raine Island rookery.

The new count shows there may be 1.73 times the number of turtles previously believed and they have now been able to adjust historical data to paint a more accurate picture of the area’s endangered green turtle population.

Watch the video below:

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