Preserving wildlife: AI as a new solution to protect animals

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Try to form this image in your head: a barbed wire fence extending from the Earth to the Moon and then back to Earth. It's surreal, isn't it? ? The latter, however, illustrates a very concrete reality in the ;#8217;American West. These fences, erected over the last century to contain livestock, have become a real headache for wildlife. Deer, elk and antelope find themselves trapped in these metal labyrinths, unable to migrate for food or to escape the harshness of winter.

Faced with this titanic challenge, two researchers decided to call upon an unexpected ally: artificial intelligence. Their goal: ? To map these invisible barriers in order to better dismantle them. While this technology represents an increasingly heavy environmental burden for the planet, many initiatives are nevertheless calling upon it to come to the aid of the environment. Prediction and prevention of natural disasters (forest fires, droughts, etc.), optimization of waste management, precision agriculture or animal monitoring, as is the case here.

AI, the eyes of the sky at the service of biodiversity

Wenjing Xu and Zhongqi Miao, respectively a postdoctoral researcher at the Senckenberg Center for Biodiversity and Climate and a scientist at the Microsoft AI for Good lab, took on a major challenge. They trained an algorithm to spot fences in aerial images of southwest Wyoming, a key region for migrating pronghorn and red deer.

The result is impressive: their system is able to accurately identify about 70% of fences. This feat opens up encouraging prospects for biodiversity conservation. ” Fencing plays a major role in animal movement and environmental health, but it is currently very difficult to obtain good data on their impact ,” says Ben Koger, an ecologist and computer scientist at the University of Wyoming. He calls Xu and Miao's initiative a major step forward.

Deadly Barriers for Wildlife

There's no doubt about the urgency of the situation. A recent study by biologist Hall Sawyer of Western EcoSystems Technology sheds light on the dire consequences of these man-made barriers. He fitted 45 antelope with radio collars and tracked their movements across the Wyoming plains. The observation is alarming: during the particularly harsh winter of 2023, half of the animals monitored died, as well as thousands of others from the herd.

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The data collected tells a poignant story: that of animals desperately trying to escape extreme winter conditions, but constantly running into fences and highways. For example, one of the monitored antelopes traveled more than 400 km without ever managing to stray more than 50 km from its starting point. A hellish labyrinth for these poor creatures.

Towards intelligent management of natural areas

Xu and Miao's approach could well revolutionize the management of natural areas. Their ambition does not stop at the American borders: they plan to extend their method to the use of satellite images, which would make it possible to map fences on a global scale.

This technological breakthrough could have far-reaching impacts if it’s fully implemented. A 2019 study found that removing fences in parts of Canada and the United States could increase antelopes’ access to high-quality forage by up to 38%, on both public and private lands.

However, the AI ​​model Xu and Miao developed still needs to be refinedto avoid misinterpretations that confuse roads with fences. Some experts, like Sawyer, would like to see more detailed information on the types of fences to better assess their impact on wildlife. « Understanding the types and heights of fences would allow us to determine whether they pose a danger to big game animals ” explains the researcher.

Despite these obstacles, there is palpable enthusiasm in the scientific community. Ben Weinstein, an ecologist specializing in computer vision at the University of Florida, emphasizes that these projects are not intended to replace human observation, but to give conservation groups and land managers new tools to make informed decisions. One thing is certain: the alliance between artificial intelligence and the protection of biodiversity promises to be exciting to follow in the years to come.

• Fences in the American West are hindering wildlife migration, preventing them from finding food and exposing them to extreme weather conditions.
• Researchers have developed an AI model to identify these fences in aerial images, in order to better understand their impact on wildlife and implement conservation measures.
• This technology could revolutionize the management of natural areas, making it possible to map fences on a global scale

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