Tigers are majestic and endangered animals that face many threats from human activities, such as poaching, habitat loss, and conflict with villagers.
To protect these magnificent creatures and the people who live near them, conservationists are turning to artificial intelligence (AI), a set of technologies that can mimic human reasoning and decision-making.
TrailGuard: An AI camera system for tigers
AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images
One of the most innovative projects using AI for tiger conservation is TrailGuard, a camera system developed by experts from Clemson University in South Carolina and several NGOs.
TrailGuard is a tiny device that can be placed around enclosures or corridors where tigers roam, both to protect villagers from the predators-and the predators from poachers1.
It uses AI to distinguish between tigers and other species, and relay images to park rangers or villagers within seconds.
This way, the authorities can respond quickly to any potential threats or incidents involving tigers, such as poaching attempts, attacks on livestock, or human-tiger encounters.
According to the research published in the BioScience journal, TrailGuard was the first AI camera to identify and transmit a picture of a tiger, and it has almost eliminated false alarms-when traps are triggered by passing boars or falling leaves.
"We have to find ways for people and tigers and other wildlife to coexist," Eric Dinerstein, one of the authors of the report and the tech team leader at the Resolve NGO, told AFP. "Technology can offer us a tremendous opportunity to achieve that goal very cheaply."
The research said that TrailGuard was immediately effective, picking up a tiger just 300 meters from a village and identifying a team of poachers on another occasion.
The camera system is currently being deployed in India and Nepal, two countries that host more than half of the world's tiger population.
Many other projects use AI to enhance the established methods of wildlife surveillance, such as camera traps, acoustic sensors, drones, and satellite imagery.
For instance, researchers in Gabon use AI to sift through their camera trap images and identify different animals.
They are also testing a warning system for elephants that can alert villagers when the animals are approaching their crops or settlements.
In the Amazon rainforest, teams are piloting equipment that can detect the sounds of chainsaws, tractors, and other machinery associated with deforestation.
The devices can send alerts to local authorities or NGOs that can intervene to stop illegal logging activities.
Another initiative is Wildlife Insights, a project launched by Google in collaboration with researchers and NGOs four years ago.
Wildlife Insights collects millions of images from camera traps around the world and uses AI to automate the process of identifying species and labeling images.
This saves many hours of tedious work for researchers and allows them to access and analyze large amounts of data faster.
Dinerstein believed that technology is crucial for achieving the goal of ensuring that 30 percent of the Earth's land and oceans are designated as protected zones by 2030, as agreed by dozens of governments last year.
The researcher hopes that technology can help monitor these zones and facilitate the movement of animals between them.
