2 Min Read WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand’s government said on Friday that it was backing a new project that uses drone technology to understand and protect the endangered Māui dolphins in the country. Maui dolphins live in a small stretch of ocean off the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island and current estimates suggest that only 63 dolphins older than one year remain, raising concerns that they may soon become extinct. The new Māui Drone Project is a one-year collaboration between the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), non-profit wildlife technology organisation MAUI63 and WWF-New Zealand. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is capable of finding and tracking Māui dolphins using artificial intelligence.