Scientists turn to artificial intelligence for help monitoring hedgehog populations: 'We need to understand where they are and why they're declining'

Jeremiah Budin
·2 min read
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Hedgehog populations have been in decline in the United Kingdom for decades. To understand why, two groups — the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and the People's Trust for Endangered Species — have launched a project called the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme to gather data.

"We know hedgehogs are struggling — especially in the countryside — but before we can put practical conservation measures in place we need to understand where they are and why they're declining," said Dr. Henrietta Pringle of the People's Trust for Endangered Species.

She added: "This is the first study where populations are measured year after year in the same location, which will produce vital data and allow us to identify those at risk, which in time will hopefully help us to reverse the decline."

The groups are touting their use of artificial intelligence in their mission, claiming that it will be the first time AI has been used to track hedgehog populations.

The specific role that AI will play consists of filtering photos captured by cameras situated in urban parks, private gardens, woodlands, and farmland to determine which ones feature animals. Those photos will then be sent to humans, who will determine which of those animals are hedgehogs.

The National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme is accepting volunteers to act as the human "spotters."

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As the program has yet to conclude, it has offered no theories as to why hedgehogs are in trouble. However, many species around the world are under threat from the effects of human-caused pollution, changing weather patterns brought on by the overheating of our planet, and habitat loss.

There may already be some good news on the hedgehog front, though. A BBC Gardeners' World Magazine poll — conducted without the use of artificial intelligence — recently reported that 33% of readers reported seeing hedgehogs in their garden in 2023, a slight increase from 31% in 2022.

"The recent surge in hedgehog sightings is a positive indication that we're making progress in coexisting with nature," the magazine's editor, Kevin Smith, told the BBC.

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