Can conflicts with wild animals be prevented using technology?

Tigers attack dogs, there have been deaths among humans and among the tigers themselves. And a reasonable question arises - why, in the era of modern digital technologies, do we, humans, not have the ability to prevent conflicts with wild animals in a timely manner! Instead, all we hear from officials are plans to increase the scale of killings.

It turned out to be more difficult with tigers - after all, they are in the Red Book. There are no more than 750 individuals in the whole country! We have no more tigers. But even here, the 'creative' Ministry of Natural Resources offers to simply introduce a law legalizing the killing of rare animals instead of developing methods to prevent conflicts.

So!

We, comrades, have done a huge amount of public work to prevent the killing of tigers! Instead, we offer real solutions:

A) Restoration of the habitat of wild animals (including a ban on sport hunting and deforestation in key tiger habitats).

B) Creation of a Unified digital platform for monitoring and tracking wild animals, in order to determine them in time and prevent conflicts. Based on neural network algorithms, such a platform can work around the clock, with deep analysis, providing continuous monitoring and forecasting of the further migration paths of animals.

Now our proposal has already reached federal agencies, I know for sure that key persons in the government responsible for making decisions are also aware of it.

But since the killing of animals is a priority task supported not only by the bureaucratic apparatus, but also by ordinary citizens, our work with you has caused a flurry of dissatisfaction and aggression! Including criticism that such technologies (for animal monitoring) do not exist, and if they do exist, it is much more difficult than it seems.

Therefore, I think it is necessary to clarify publicly here.

I am not a specialist in technology, but as a person studying environmental issues and defending nature for more than ten years, I can confidently say that such technologies not only exist, but are also successfully used in the world!

Moreover, modern trends show that if a task is set for well-paid specialists, even the most intricate technologies appear! And there are already a huge number of them. Nobody pays for nature conservation, this area is practically not funded, that is why there are few developments in this field.

Therefore, it is the state that should convene an interdisciplinary commission, before which a specific task should be set: 'Create, develop such a system! Here is the budget and the deadlines!'

Let me present my vision.

First: what specific technologies are already actively used in the protection of wildlife?

The organization Save the Elephants installs GPS collars on elephants in Samburu National Reserve to study migration routes and respond to poaching. Based on satellite data, scientists determine the paths on which elephants move and promptly receive a signal if the animal starts moving atypically (this could indicate injury or threat).

Specialists from the Snow Leopard Trust use GPS collars and satellite monitoring to study snow leopards in remote mountainous areas of Mongolia and other countries in Central Asia. This allows for observation of the leopards' habitat, identification of key risk areas (such as areas of conflict with pastures and human settlements), and estimation of population size in inaccessible regions.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the USA uses satellite trackers attached to the shells of sea turtles (green turtles, hawksbills, and others). This allows tracking migration routes, identifying nesting sites, and determining threats (such as ships, fishing nets, pollution).

In the areas of the Indian and Pacific Oceans (e.g. near Mexico, the Maldives, and the Seychelles), large marine organizations and funds (WWF, MWSRP, etc.) use satellite tags for whale sharks. Thus, specialists can understand where the largest fish on the planet are moving, identify areas where they are threatened by overfishing or collisions with ships, and develop measures for their protection.

Biologists in the USA attach GPS collars to wolves and use satellite data to study the behavior of the pack, population dynamics, and habitat. This is also used to prevent conflicts with local farmers! Technologies have already proven their effectiveness.

Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey use satellite imagery of penguin colonies (including emperor penguins) and, in some cases, RFID tags/transmitters attached to feathers.

The International Argos Satellite System (with the participation of CNES, the French Space Agency, NOAA, and EUMETSAT) uses small transmitters attached to birds (as well as marine mammals) to collect coordinates. These technologies already provide an understanding of global migration routes, identify 'bottleneck' areas - areas where birds are at risk of habitat loss, pollution, or poaching.

In some reserves of the Republic of South Africa, white rhinos are equipped with GPS trackers, and sometimes chips are embedded in their horns and satellite communication is used. This allows for fighting poaching and quickly detecting missing or injured rhinos, coordinating rangers promptly.

OCEARCH installs satellite tags on white sharks off the coast of North America (especially in the Cape Cod area, USA) and in other areas of the World Ocean.

In the USA and Canada, nature conservation services (e.g. the National Park Service - NPS) and organizations like WWF use GPS trackers and geolocation tags to track bison and buffalo in reserves and national parks.

Service life.

All these technologies are still being developed, tested, but they already show their effectiveness! But at the same time, there are currently no federal Unified platforms based on consolidated data. And Russia could well lead such an experiment, passing it on to the whole world. Show everyone how we care about our nature.

Now there are no problems with creating a digital platform or connecting neural network algorithms. The main problem is the development and integration of maximally efficient autonomous trackers for wild animals! And it is not necessary to 'monitor' everyone, it is enough to do this with conflict individuals, as an option.

Large trackers are suitable for large animals, which can provide communication for an average of 3-5 years. For example, they use German 'Vectronic Aerospace GPS Collars' or Kenyan 'Savannah Tracking Collars' to monitor elephants in Kenya. One installation - once every three years!

To monitor snow leopards, they use trackers like 'Savannah Tracking Collars' (with satellite signal enhancement) or 'Lotek Iridium Collars' from a British-Canadian manufacturer. Such batteries need to be replaced more often, as their maintenance is more labor-intensive in low-temperature conditions. But there are only a few thousand snow leopards in the world!

At the same time, there are GPS collars for large animals that can work without maintenance for up to 10 years. These are mainly solutions for elephants, rhinos or, for example, buffalo. In reality, on average, autonomy is 3-5 years or up to 7-8 years if there is funding (such trackers are expensive).

Monitoring time.

Another problem is the time of coordinate updates. Usually, trackers transmit information several times an hour! When connecting this data to a digital platform based on AI algorithms, it is capable of tracking and predicting the further migration path of wild animals. That is, if a tiger transmits a signal, approaching a settlement, the platform records the direction, movement, and if there is a possibility of approach to people, the coordinates are transmitted to the nature conservation service, which goes to the scene for peaceful accompaniment of the animal. To prevent any possible conflict.

What could be developed?

Satellite communication-based trackers: the module receives coordinates and transmits them to the Unified platform. This ensures practically global coverage, including polar regions. To reduce costs and ensure high autonomy, the tracker can transmit a signal only once a day! This will be enough for analysis.

In addition, the tracker can be additionally equipped with GSM communication - this is classic mobile communication, and even the lowest 2G signal will be sufficient for transmitting a signal. This communication should be constantly turned off! Make it so that (using AI, smart system) the communication is turned on only when the animal approaches settlements.

Thanks to the state, believe me, this is not money at all in the measures of the state, all remote villages where there is a possibility of conflicts with wild animals can be equipped with mobile communication towers. Local residents will only be happy! It is high time to give people normal stable internet and calls, including for emergency situations.

Thus, mobile communication on the trackers is turned off as soon as the animal moves far away from the settlement! Then a signal is transmitted once a day via GPS. If, for example, a tiger returns to the village again, continuous communication will be transmitted every 5-10 minutes via mobile connection.

Also, there are other developments now! For example, networks of sensors with radio modules (Bluetooth, Zigbee, LoRa, etc.) have already been created, forming a 'grid' and transmitting data to each other between animals until the signal reaches a stationary base station. With the proper organization of the infrastructure, data can be collected autonomously over a vast territory.

And the last thing! There are local receivers (VHF/UHF) - very small, they can be used as backup sensors. By the way, they are very cheap! The point is that nature conservation agency staff can regularly monitor territories using drones, which, flying over the forest, detect signals (VHF/UHF) and transmit data to the Unified Digital Platform.

Add remote sensing, drones, photo and video traps to all these technologies - and you will have a balanced modern wildlife control system with almost guaranteed prevention of any conflicts.

Results.

In the end, we see a powerful modern infrastructure that opens up a fundamentally new perspective on interaction with wildlife. The Unified digital platform under the guidance of the federal government combines data on predators, which are processed by AI algorithms, and operational services receive the necessary information for quick and targeted response.

Claims that 'this is impossible' are just one of the excuses of those who support the extermination of animals. In the last 50 years, humans have exterminated over 70% of all animals on the planet, and right now the remaining ones are also on the brink of extinction.

And all we hear is 'kill, kill, kill'.

Let's strive for modern solutions! Let's continue our work - if you haven't already participated in the public initiative, it's time to do so. Every voice matters!

This is our joint Mission - the fight for Life.

© PAVEL PASHKOV