For the first time, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) used an unmanned aerial vehicle to capture footage of orca whales off the coast of British Columbia. Using a drone-style vehicle allows scientists to gather unprecedented data on the whales, who are typically very sensitive to environmental intrusions.

More than just fun and games, the drone’s footage is serving a vital function – it allows researchers to monitor the population health of aquatic species. In this case, scientists are using the images to determine whether or not the wales are getting enough food. The killer whales in the region typically survive on salmon, and scientists say the salmon are much smaller now than they used to be. Aerial photography is an easy way to see if the whales are looking too thin, or healthy.

Previous attempts at aerial photography via manned helicopter proved unfeasible. The copter had to be flown too high for photography so as to not disturb the whales, and was very expensive.

The images also clue scientists into whale reproduction, as they can see how many are pregnant and how many pregnancies are carried to term. Typically, scientists estimate whale populations based on counting how many individuals have died.

“… mortality is a pretty coarse measure of how well the population is doing because the problem, if there is one, has already occurred,” said John Durban, a biologist with NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California. But the hexacopter, Durban said, “can give us a more sensitive measure that we might be able to respond to before whales die.”

NOAA points out that killer whales are a specially protected species due to their sensitivity, and that NOAA has the proper permits to work with them. While the drone was allowed to fly 100 feet above the whales, non-permitted activities mandate staying as high as 1,500 feet above some species.