UK hedgehog populations are going to be monitored for the first time with the help of cameras and artificial intelligence (AI). The National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme (NHMP) is hoping to discover why hedgehog numbers have been declining over the years.
The cameras will be placed in habitats such as gardens, public parks and woodland where hedgehogs are commonly found. The cameras will take photographs of the animals while they go about their business, with the help of AI training to be able to tell the cameras which animals are hedgehogs and which aren’t.
The information of where and when the hedgehogs were spotted will be recorded and sent to a data bank for compiling the information.
The programme hopes to be able to estimate the number of hedgehogs currently living in the UK. Dr Henrietta Pringle, the NHMP coordinator at People’s Trust for Endangered Species, told The Guardian: “For the first time in the history of hedgehog conservation, we’re using AI to open up new opportunities, which is extremely exciting.”
“We know hedgehogs are struggling – especially in the countryside – but before we can put practical conservation measures in place, we need to understand where they are and why they’re declining,” she added.
This isn’t the first time that AI has been used to help wildlife. Several programs exist, including one that uses facial recognition to monitor puffins and seals in Scotland and another in Gabon, Africa that is helping save elephants from poachers.
[via the guardian]
