AI and Volunteers Enlisted to Save Britain's Vanishing Hedgehogs
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Conservationists in the UK are using AI and photography to monitor the declining hedgehog population. Images from trail cameras will be sorted by AI to identify hedgehogs.
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Human volunteers will then go through the animal images for further identification. It's a first for tracking hedgehog populations.
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The hedgehog population in the UK has declined 30-75% since 2000, showing the need for this new AI-backed monitoring effort.
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Volunteer organizations are coordinating local surveys, placing cameras for 30 days. The images will be analyzed to understand how to better help hedgehogs.
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The project is still looking for volunteer "trappers" and "spotters" to generate critical data to understand hedgehog status and develop conservation strategies.