A fitting last post for what has been a most exciting 2012, which saw the founding of ConservationDrones.org and ResearchDrones.com, hundreds of successful drone missions in Asia and Africa (and a couple of epic crashes as well), and exciting new partnerships with conservation groups and colleagues around the world.

This is video footage from a December drone training mission on the beaches of Pongara National Park in Gabon, off the Atlantic ocean, conducted by Remo Peduzzi of ResearchDrones.com for WWF Netherlands, Team Libreville.

Not only did the drone capture detailed video and images of turtle nests on the beach, but it also had a serendipitous encounter with a Gabonese SWAT Team, which was parachuting down to the beach from a helicopter.

Looking forward to another productive and exciting year to come in 2013!

-ConservationDrones.org & ResearchDrones.com