When elephants move in India in search of food, they often cross railway lines that cross their habitats. Collisions with trains are the second most common cause of unnatural death there. According to official information, at least fifty animals have died this way in the past four years. AI-enabled monitoring and warning systems are now aimed at better protecting the subcontinent’s animals.
For example, Indian Railways is currently installing technology and cables along tracks in the northeast that can detect vibrations caused by elephant footsteps within a five-metre radius. Messages are then sent to a mobile phone app and a control room. Approaching trains can be automatically warned so that they slow down or stop. Another system is being tested in the south of the country.
AI can help not only in India
Artificial intelligence for animal protection – such ideas exist not only in India, but in many countries around the world, says ecologist Arnulf Köhncke, head of species protection at the environmental organization WWF Germany. AI is used extensively to assess images, the expert explains on the occasion of World Animal Protection Day on October 4. “We want to know how many animals of a species live somewhere.” This requires setting up camera traps, counting animals in the photos and statistically evaluating the data – “without support it takes a long time.”
Because the cameras take countless pictures. “The AI helps determine what is an animal in the photos and what is not.” In this way, the enormous amounts of data could be processed better, says Köhncke. The AI can also recognize which species can be seen in the photos – and sometimes even which individual animals. “In cats like tigers and leopards, she can identify individuals by their stripes and spots.”
Even zebras, giraffes, whales and dolphins have patterns or fins that are unique and can be deciphered. “If you can recognize the animals individually, you can use statistical models to calculate how many animals of this species are found in the area,” the expert explains.
WWF and IBM count African elephants with AI
In August, WWF Germany, together with the IBM company, started such a project in Central Africa: forest elephants are to be observed and counted there. In such projects, AI not only helps in analyzing the amounts of data. It can also recognize behavioral patterns and make accurate predictions.
Other AI approaches are based on audio, Köhncke continues. This makes a lot of sense, especially in large forest systems in Africa, Asia or Latin America, because you can’t see very far there. Some programs could recognize bird calls and thus help identify animal species. Experts can even draw conclusions from the sound of chainsaws, namely where forests are being cut down. And shots pointed to poachers.
Satellite photos can also be evaluated
Monitoring can also be performed from space. Köhncke says satellite photos can quickly show where the fire is. “It is also possible to record the movements of vultures via satellite evaluation.” This way you can see where a dead animal is located – this could also be an indication of poaching. “More and more things are being developed,” summarizes Köhncke.
The Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research in Bremen recently reported on the use of AI to see in depth. Two species of surgeonfish have been observed in coral reefs in the Red Sea. The fish’s movements were recorded in three dimensions as they searched for food. This allowed the researchers to better understand the marine ecosystem, which is important for developing protective measures for the reefs.
In India, experts are also considering how to prevent encounters between people and potentially dangerous wild animals. Because people die again and again when they encounter elephants, tigers or leopards. The chief conservator of forests in Uttarakhand, northern India, Sameer Sinha, tells dpa that camera traps with AI technology are now being used in his state.
The cameras had Internet capabilities, allowing images to be sent to a computer server in real time. When such animals come near villages, alerts are automatically generated. The forest department then informs villagers and sets up response teams to intervene. The only problem so far with the application, says Sinha: there is not always good internet in the area.
Source: Krone
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