Elephant selfies could be key in helping conservation efforts
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The elephant selfies that could help conservation
Zoo keepers at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo have taken the world's largest collection of thermal images of elephants.
The 30,000 images have been used to train a camera to detect elephants using the heat they give off.
It is hoped the heat sensitive camera will make safer spaces for wild elephants living beside humans in Africa and Asia.
The technology could be used to identify wild elephants and warn people living near to be aware of the animals in the area.
What do the images show?
The photos are of elephants in lots of different poses.
Eating, playing and their everyday behaviour.
They have been taken using thermal imaging software.
Thermal imaging software is a form of technology that uses the heat from the elephants to create a picture.
This means the cameras are able to tell when an elephant is nearby even when it's dark!
How will this help keep elephants safe?
In countries where wild elephants and humans live beside one another, things can become tense.
As populations grow more of the elephants's habitat is built on by humans and that can lead to problems.
Elephants can damage crops and property and in some cases people have lost their lives.
It's hoped that being able to detect when an elephant is nearby and warn people it will help ease the tensions.
Conservation technology expert at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Alasdair Davies said:
"It can detect elephants confidently at a certain distance - and we want to get this into the field now and actually put it in the wild helping wild animals and communities live side-by-side."
- Published22 January 2021
