Elephants Look Tiny from Space, but Scientists Figured out how to Count Them
upstart writes in with an IRC submission:
Elephants look tiny from space, but scientists figured out how to count them:
A team led by researchers with the University of Oxford and the University of Bath in the UK developed a method for counting African elephants using imagery from Maxar satellites, opening up a new way to monitor vulnerable and endangered animals.
[...] "For the first time, scientists have successfully used satellite cameras coupled with deep learning to count animals in complex geographical landscapes," said the University of Bath in a statement Tuesday.
The satellite images could offer an effective alternative to surveillance done by humans in aircraft, which can be an expensive and challenging way of counting elephants.
The space method has "comparable accuracy to human detection capabilities," according to a Maxar statement. Satellites can also easily cover a tremendous amount of ground.
[...] There are an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 African elephants left in the wild and they are listed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The population is under pressure from habitat loss and poaching.
Journal Reference:
Isla Duporge, Olga Isupova, Steven Reece, et al. ZSL Publications [open], Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation (DOI: 10.1002/rse2.195)
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.