Today, conservation organizations released over 4.5 million camera trap records as a part of Wildlife Insights, a groundbreaking cloud platform that provides vital, near real-time information about the wildlife populations across the globe.

Camera traps are used worldwide, snapping thousands of photographs a day and providing scientists with an unequaled view into the habits and habitats of wildlife, including numerous threatened and endangered species. But all this information has a downside — it is time consuming to sort through and painstaking to process. 

All this is about to change thanks to Wildlife Insights, which uses artificial intelligence technology developed by Google to enable researchers to identify species in a fraction of a second, dramatically speeding up the pace at which this information can be processed and analyzed and making it available to decision-makers in near real-time. It is the most diverse camera-trap database in the world and allows users to explore millions of camera-trap records, filtering data by species, country and year.   

Said Cristián Samper, WCS President and CEO: “As a field-based organization working in landscapes and seascapes across the world, WCS relies on camera trap images as critical data point to help save everything from tigers in India to wolverines in the Arctic. Wildlife Insights is a quantum leap forward making it easy for users on the ground to leverage field-collected data for improved conservation effectiveness in protected areas around the world.”

The platform is operated in partnership by the Wildlife Conservation Society, Conservation International, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, World Wide Fund for Nature, the Zoological Society of London, Map of Life and Google.

To coincide with the launch of Wildlife Insights, Google released a short documentary film that tells the story of a camera trapper at Colombia’s Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute who is using Wildlife Insights to document and preserve the biological diversity in Caño Cristales, the country’s remote upper Amazon region. Google has also released a background video on how Wildlife Insights was developed. 

The collection of camera trap data is expected to grow as selected organizations and researchers start uploading data early next year.

Organizations supporting Wildlife Insights include the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Lyda Hill Philanthropies and Google.

A word from all the partners, in this ground-breaking collaboration project:

“Without healthy wildlife populations, nature cannot provide the benefits people need to thrive. In the absence of wildlife, forests store less carbon, grasslands have disrupted nutrient cycles, plants get decimated by pests. Humanity urgently needs reliable, public and current information on wildlife populations to ensure we are conserving nature as a whole. Wildlife Insights is exactly the solution we need to put millions of camera trap images in the service of conservation. It is possible thanks to the combination of advanced technology, data sharing, interinstitutional partnerships and science-based analytics. It will change the way we manage protected areas, empower indigenous and local communities in conservation and bring the best data and science closer to decision makers.” 

Jorge A. Ahumada. Executive Director of Wildlife Insights and Senior Wildlife Conservation Scientist

"In the past, people who monitor wildlife using sensors like camera traps have had a significant big data challenge. Manually reviewing millions of images to find animals can be a needle-in-a-haystack problem. Optimizing the amount of time that humans spend reviewing wildlife data is a great problem for Google's AI and Google Cloud Platform to help solve. Wildlife Insights will put wildlife on the map, for the first time visualizing the world’s largest collection of camera trap-based wildlife observations. With wildlife data available for the world to see in near-real time, anyone can better understand where wildlife is, so we can better protect wild animals and their habitats."

Tanya Birch, Program Manager, Google Earth Outreach

“Wildlife Insights is a model for how science should be conducted — sharing information for the good of all. Data examined across broad landscapes is an unsurpassed monitoring tool. Wildlife Insights could be the Holy Grail that scientists need to better understand the status of threatened species, their surrounding ecosystems, and the threats that are impacting them — from climate change and land use to human activity.”

Steve Monfort, Director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

"In today’s increasingly digital age, big data and artificial intelligence have the power to transform the fate of many endangered species. Millions of unprocessed camera trap pictures and video languish on the hard drives of many individuals and organizations globally. Wildlife Insights promises to bring these images to life and apply them to decision-making in critical conservation projects and policies. We now have a chance to bend the curve of biodiversity decline with this critical global partnership."

 Margaret Kinnaird, Wildlife Practice Leader, WWF

“The earth is rapidly changing, and we need new ways to determine which animal species are adapting to change and which species may need help. Camera traps are effective tools in generating huge amounts of data, allowing scientists to collaborate with citizens to monitor animal species at increasingly larger scales.  Until now, this work has been limited by the technology needed to process the millions of animal photos produced by big surveys.  Wildlife Insights changes all of that by enabling efficient processing of this flood of data.  Together, WI’s advanced analytics and amazing pictures will help us illuminate the natural world and inspire its conservation.”

D. Reid Wilson, Chief Deputy Secretary, North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

“Humanity and the way we feed, fuel and finance our societies and economies is pushing nature and the services that power and sustain us to the brink. It’s crucial now more than ever that the conservation community comes together and collaborates with governments and industry, to develop new solutions which massively scale our combined impact and reverse this detrimental trend for both people and wildlife. Wildlife Insights is at the pinnacle of these ideals – harnessing the power of AI and providing citizens, companies and governments the ability to react with urgency – something biodiversity so desperately needs.”

Dr Andrew Terry, Director of Conservation, Zoological Society of London

“Wildlife Insights brings us closer towards having a publicly-accessible tool for practitioners to make timely decisions to protect wildlife globally. We’re pleased to support the launch of this multi-partner effort as a platform that will be open to the world.”

Aileen Lee, Chief Program Officer for Environmental Conservation at the Moore Foundation

“Wildlife Insights is a transformational platform that brings together the best science and technology to understand and conserve global wildlife. We are proud to support this important initiative and wish to see it grow and flourish in the future. We encourage and welcome efforts like Wildlife Insights that rely on collaborations by non-profit organizations, academics and the technology sector to develop permanent solutions for conservation.”

Lyda Hill, Founder, Lyda Hill Philanthropies

A demo of the platform is available here. Organizations interested in utilizing the platform can contact info@wildlifeinsights.org for more information. Follow @WildlifeInsights on Facebook and Instagram and @WildInsights on Twitter. 

About Conservation International

Conservation International uses science, policy and partnerships to protect the nature that people rely on for food, fresh water and livelihoods. Founded in 1987, Conservation International works in more than 30 countries on six continents to ensure a healthy, prosperous planet that supports us all.

Learn more about Conservation International, the groundbreaking  "Nature Is Speaking" campaign and its series of virtual reality projects: “Drop in the Ocean”, "My Africa," “Under the Canopy" and "Valen's Reef." Follow Conservation International's work on our Human Nature blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

About the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute leads the Smithsonian’s global effort to save species, better understand ecosystems and train future generations of conservationists.  As Washington, D.C.’s favorite destination for families, the Zoo connects visitors to amazing animals and the people working to save them. In Front Royal, Virginia and in more than 30 countries worldwide, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists and animal care experts tackle some of today’s most complex conservation challenges by applying and sharing what they learn about animal behavior and reproduction, ecology, genetics, migration and conservation sustainability to save wildlife and habitats. Follow the Zoo on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  #WeSaveSpecies #EarthOptimism

About World Wide Fund for Nature

WWF is an independent conservation organization, with over 30 million followers and a global network active in nearly 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. Visit www.panda.org/news for latest news and media resources, and follow us on Twitter @WWF_media

About the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

With its mission to illuminate the natural world and inspire its conservation, the NC Museum of Natural Sciences opened in 1879 and expanded in 2000 and 2012 to occupy two side-by-side buildings in downtown Raleigh, offering the approx. 1,000,000 annual visitors an engaging experience that combines elements of a natural history museum, science-technology center, children’s museum, aquarium and zoo.  A Division of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the Museum has an active scientific staff with globally recognized research expertise in a wide variety of scientific disciplines, is a Smithsonian Affiliate, and is one of three nationwide partners of the Smithsonian Science Education Center.

About the Zoological Society of London

ZSL (Zoological Society of London) is an international conservation charity working to create a world where wildlife thrives. From investigating the health threats facing animals to helping people and wildlife live alongside each other, ZSL is committed to bringing wildlife back from the brink of extinction. Our work is realised through our ground-breaking science, our field conservation around the world and engaging millions of people through our two zoos, ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. For more information, visit www.zsl.org.

About Map of Life

Map of Life is a global collaborative resource for the mapping and monitoring of species populations. In partnership with data and research networks, Map of Life combines spatial biodiversity data using latest modelling approaches to provide best-possible information on species occurrences and how they are changing worldwide. Map of Life information, indicator products, and tools support biodiversity research, education, monitoring, decision-making, and contribute to the reporting needs of global conventions and assessment processes. Explore Map of Life at MOL.org.

About the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation fosters path-breaking scientific discovery, environmental conservation, patient care improvements and preservation of the special character of the Bay Area. Visit Moore.org or follow @MooreFound.

About Lyda Hill Philanthropies

Lyda Hill Philanthropies® encompasses the charitable giving of founder Lyda Hill and includes her foundation and personal philanthropy. Lyda Hill Philanthropies® is committed to funding transformational advances in science and nature, empowering nonprofit organizations and improving the Texas and Colorado communities.