A precise head count is necessary to protect unique animals. How many individuals actually live where? In Australia, where bushfires threaten kangaroos and koalas, AI is now used for species protection.
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00:00 A koala is on the move under the cover of night.
00:07 Just like these wallabies, the kangaroo's smaller cousin.
00:14 For Australian wildlife conservationists, these images are a small victory.
00:20 Using camera traps, they are trying to find out how well different animal species are
00:24 recovering from bushfires.
00:28 So the camera detects the animals by a combination of movement and heat from the animals.
00:34 So as the animal walks past the camera, usually around where the bait station is, it gets
00:40 triggered and takes five quick photos of the animal as it comes past.
00:46 Erin Greenville researches in the iconic Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.
00:52 The area is a tourist draw, but is also prone to bushfires.
00:56 That's why it was included in WWF Australia's large-scale camera sensor project, Eyes on
01:02 Recovery.
01:03 About 1100 camera traps were installed all over the country, especially in areas damaged
01:09 by the bushfires of 2019 and 2020.
01:12 The cameras generate millions of photos.
01:15 AI helps researchers analyze the data.
01:21 The artificial intelligence is actually enabling them to sort through these images much more
01:28 rapidly.
01:29 So it's basically improving their efficiency so they can go out and do the work, other
01:34 work that they need to do to manage species recovery, for instance.
01:40 After collecting the photos from the cameras, researchers upload them to an AI model called
01:45 Wildlife Insights.
01:47 The Google-powered platform has a database of over 35 million images and is being used
01:53 by wildlife organizations all over the world.
01:57 The AI detects what kind of animal is seen within an image and labels it accordingly,
02:02 helping research move along more quickly.
02:09 We find ourselves in this point in time where climate change is meaning we're having more
02:16 frequent fires, not just in Australia but across the entirety of the world.
02:21 So projects like Eyes on Recovery that develop technology that can help us to assess impacts
02:27 more rapidly are just absolutely crucial for understanding future fire events in Australia
02:34 and across the world.
02:37 While the Blue Mountains look lush and green now, it is just a matter of time before the
02:42 bushfires return and the animals suffer.