Drones
Mysuru’s Dasara sky turned into a billboard for tigers: 2,983 drones drew a massive tiger over Bannimantap’s Torchlight Parade Ground, setting a Guinness World Record for the largest aerial image of a mammal. The show, staged on September 28 by Botlab Dynamics, also sketched the solar system and world map as crowds filmed the spectacle.
The record matters for awareness. But let’s be honest: light shows don’t protect tigers; protected forests do. If “drones” become the conservation headline, budgets drift to spectacle while corridors, anti-poaching, and prey recovery wait in the queue.
Organisers say all procedures were cleared—CESC oversight, certification by a London team, aeronautical vetting, auditors, legal checks. Good. Now apply that rigor to tiger landscapes. Use technology for patrols, snare detection, and fire watch, not just for viral reels.
Celebrate the art, then get back to work. Real conservation is dull, daily, and expensive. That’s where the drones should fly next: into conservation practices that keep wild tigers alive.
