After many years of successful cooperation in monitoring nests of endangered bird species we got an interesting new inquiry from Duna-Ipoly National Park Directorate to try to monitor the life of underground animals from the air. At a first glance this challenge truly sounds like telling whether Schrödinger's cat is dead or alive -- underground animals are underground so that no one could see them from over the ground. However, after meeting with the devoted researchers onsite we got assured that there is indeed a lot of information that can be exploited about moles and mole-rats from the sky above.

After several days of measurements and image processing, we could use our custom AI tools to detect and identify thousands of molehills (and mole-rat hills), from which the structure of their tunnels and even the number of active animals can be easily predicted. This is a great example of how aerial imaging can provide interesting and useful information previously unavailable. We really hope to continue this great project with long-term measurements and thus take part in the protection of some of our most unique endangered species in Hungary.