Drone Herds Sheep in Beautiful New Zealand

Some of you may have woke up early on Christmas morning to rush to the tree and unwrap your shiny new drone. Unfortunately, the unusually cold conditions in parts of the US meant that many of you were grounded. So while you were there holding your new toy in your hands, staring wistfully at the crisp air outside, you may have had to justify the large price tag to yourself or to your partner/parents.

"Do not fret, my love" you probably said to your spouse (or to yourself in the mirror, you weirdo), because not only did they make your Christmas dreams come true, but they also made a sound financial investment. For not only are you a wizard at Premiere Pro, thanks to the Fstoppers community, but there's sheep that need a herdin', and you got the best darn sheep-dog in town. 

We're on the cusp people. First, they came for our assembly line jobs, and now they've come for our dog's jobs. Will you welcome our new robot overlords? I do, and so does the guy over at Man and Drone in New Zealand. In this video, filmed on his trusty DJI Inspire 2, you can watch as what I believe is a DJI Phantom 3 does a great job at herding sheep in the magnificent New Zealand landscape.

Mike O'Leary's picture

Mike is a landscape and commercial photographer from, Co. Kerry, Ireland. In his photographic work, Mike tries to avoid conveying his sense of existential dread, while at the same time writing about his sense of existential dread. The last time he was in New York he was mugged, and he insists on telling that to every person he meets.

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14 Comments

"...the best darn sheep-dog in town." Everybody knows Farmer Hoggett has the best sheep-dog. ;-)

Except my dog doesn't run out of energy every 20 minutes.

I was referring to "Babe", the pig. I'll like drones a lot better when they're no longer a fad. :-/

I would love to see them all run wild back to where they were every time the drone has to land and change batteries.

Drones may be fun, but they are nowhere near as cute as a border collie.

My Australian Shepherd hates my daughter-in-law's Border Collie. ;-) She's mean to him!

A bit of a herding rivalry going one there? ;-)

No. Her dog is fiercely jealous of her and mine thinks everyone is fair game for attention. :-)

Ah, gotcha. Border Collies are known to be loyal and extremely attached to their person...sometimes to a fault.

Low voltage in the batteries.

Definitely agree on insulated compartments. DJI makes stick-on warmers, though honestly, if I keep the batteries in my car until I'm ready to fly and let the drone hover for a minute before I zoom off, I've never had an issue, even down to about 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

Border Collies, y'all are out of a job.

Beautiful