AI-based cameras capture G-B wildlife

KARACHI:

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has reduced the human-wildlife conflict in recent years, which was one of the key reasons for a gradual decline in the population of endangered snow leopards in northern Pakistan.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Pakistan installed AI-based trail cameras in 2022 at strategic locations in the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region, which borders neighboring China and is home to the rare leopard species, which has turned the human-wildlife conflict into "human-wildlife coexistence."

This recent technology has significantly reduced snow leopard (Panthera uncia) attacks on livestock, a key factor behind human-leopard conflict, at the targeted sites, the WWF said on the occasion of the World Snow Leopard Day on Wednesday.

The development coincided with the saving of a herd of about 60 elephants crossing the railway tracks in northeastern Assam state of India last week through AI.

The AI-based intrusion detection system (IDS) alerted the loco pilots of the train about the herd of elephants crossing the tracks, propelling them to apply the brakes.

In the past, several snow leopards have been killed by local communities in retaliation for their attacks on the livestock.

In addition to this threat, poaching, illegal hunting, and habitat loss resulting from adverse climate change impacts, also endanger the snow leopard population across its habitat range in Central and South Asia, according to the WWF.

In collaboration with the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), the WWF developed and installed five AI-based camera traps at strategic locations where snow leopard depredations were reported by the representatives of the local communities.

These cameras detect the presence of snow leopards in the surroundings, transfer the data to a centralized system, and generate alerts for members of local communities about the predator.

As a result, local communities safeguard their livestock either grazing in the fields or being kept in the household. The technology has significantly reduced the attacks of snow leopards on livestock turning human-snow leopard conflicts into a symbiotic relationship.