Partner with WildTrack

Stuart Pimm

Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University

"WildTrack is enormously exciting. It unites the unique knowledge of those who work in the field with endangered species and modern technologies that can now identify not just species, but individuals and their sexes. That it does so in a non-invasive way is essential when dealing with animals that are so rare."

Dr. Stephen Lee

Chief Scientist, US Army Research Office, North Carolina, USA

"The Army benefits greatly from the WildTrack research with respect to the algorithms and analysis done on large complex datasets of individuals. Ultimately, this research will help us identify unique and specific signatures that can be used by the Army."

Alexander Beck

JMP Academic Team

"I come across many inspiring and interesting projects. One of the outstanding projects is our collaboration with WildTrack: The recent TerraX documentary about WildTrack’s rhino work in Namibia showed JMP in action at premium time on German TV. I was very lucky to be in a role connecting WildTrack’s researcher investigating populations of the Eurasian otter with some of the leading academic institutions in the analytics & machine learning space. Thinking about all the great successes of WildTrack better understanding and supporting our mother Earth and being a (very small) part in that story makes me very happy."

Pogiso Ithuteng

Lead Tracker for Leopard Ecology and Research, Botswana

"FIT represents the type of tools needed to involve more the indigenous community in wildlife monitoring, valorising the local knowledge which risks to disappear. As the Lead Tracker and Field Research Assistant for LEC Botswana, I’m excited to be able to use FIT to help me monitor Lion and Leopard in our research area."

Prof. Dr. Juarez Pezzuti

University of Para, Brazil

"I have been working as a field biologist in northern Brazil (Amazon Basin) since 1995, mostly on human-wildlife interaction and ethno ecology. My main interest is in Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) of indigenous and riverine groups and its application to wildlife ecology. From all the innovative technologies and socially inclusive tools that cam to my knowledge, the Footprint Identification Technique (FIT) is, in my opinion, the one with the greatest potential to support community-based initiatives for engaging local communities in wildlife monitoring, management and conservation."

Jonathan D’Souza

CTO, MedArrive

"These are the things about WildTrack’s FIT that stand out:

First: the focus on making data capture multi-model (drones at various altitudes, hand-held phone, video or still pictures) and frictionless compared to most other tracking paradigms. It’s non-invasive, one doesn’t have to have a camera at the right place at the right time, and the AI is being trained to handle images of variable quality, backgrounds and lighting.

Second: there is varied real-world applicability to the capability; from vastly improving the efficacy of Environmental Impact surveys, to mobile experience for casual users to find out what print they are looking at while on a hike, the possibilities are numerous and more importantly can catalyze the virtuous cycle of more field engagement>more data>more capable AI; more field engagement.

Third: FIT harnesses rapid advances in the field of computer vision that is growing leaps and bounds across many verticals, blending them with morphometric analysis, fashioned off indigenous tracking techniques. This better channels the model development with a feedback loop rooted in deep domain knowledge.

Finally, and I cannot stress this enough, Zoe and Sky are the secret sauce. They are tireless in their efforts to evangelize the work being done, continually expanding the volunteer network (technologists, data scientists, field biologists etc), forging new partnerships with commercial enterprises and universities alike. They are abelt orchestrate a number of varied initiatives across the network, always ensuring progress on the highest priorities. Experts in their own field, they are curious and driven to learn more about areas outside of their comfort zone, looking for anything that helps innovate towards their mission."