- Home delivery drones in Australia had to be suspended after they were repeatedly attacked by birds.
- Delivery service operator Wing said it would wait while researchers assess the birds’ behavior.
- A man who filmed one of the attacks said “it’s only a matter of time” until a drone is brought down.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
A drone delivery service in Canberra, Australia, has had to contend with its devices getting attacked by ravens guarding their nests.
But on Tuesday it announced it would suspend deliveries to part of the city after several reports of ravens swooping down on its drones, The Canberra Times reported.
This comes at a time where demand for drone deliveries is surging due to Canberra’s ongoing coronavirus lockdown.
The latest attack was captured on video and posted online by Ben Roberts, a local resident who orders coffee every morning with the service.
He told The Canberra Times: “It’s a matter of time before they bring one down. They think it’s Terminator or something.”
Magpies as well as other birds like hawks and wedge-tailed eagles have also been known to attack drones.
You can watch the video here.
In a statement to customers in the local area, Wing said: "We've identified some birds in the area demonstrating territorial behaviors and swooping at moving objects," according to ABC News Australia.
A Wing spokesperson told Insider that the drone in the video completed its delivery and returned to its home facility after the attack.
The spokesperson said that Wing drones have "multiple redundancies to help ensure safe operations in the event that something like this occurs."
Wing said it suspended delivery to a "limited number" of customers, without giving a precise figure. Its operations in the rest of Canberra were unaffected.
Ornithologist Neil Hermes told ABC News Australia that while ravens are very territorial, they have never attacked drones before.
"They will swoop dogs and activity around their nests, but attacking drones is new," Hermes said.
Wayne Condon, the chief pilot and instructor with UAV Training Australia, told the network that drone operators should avoid known nesting locations.
"At the end of the day, it's their sky, and we are the visitor. Fingers crossed, if you act fast enough, you'll be able to save your aircraft and not injure the bird!" Condon told The Canberra Times.