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A ferret is the first North American endangered animal to be cloned
Scientists have cloned the first North American endangered species, successfully producing a black-footed ferret.
Intel-powered camera uses AI to protect endangered African wildlife
Technology is already in use to help stop poachers. However, it's frequently limited to monitoring poachers when they're already in shooting range, or after the fact. The non-profit group Resolve vows to do better -- it recently developed a newer version of its TrailGuard camera that uses AI to spot poachers in Africa before they can threaten an endangered species. It uses an Intel-made computer vision processor (the Movidius Myriad 2) that can detect animals, humans and vehicles in real-time, giving park rangers a chance to intercept poachers before it's too late.
Feds delay endangered bumblebee's protection
The rusty patched bumblebee was supposed to be officially added to the endangered species list on February 10th. Unfortunately, the insect's fate is now uncertain: a Federal Register notice filed on January 20th says the Trump administration has put its designation on hold until March 21st. It was one of the things affected by an executive order the president signed last month, which imposes a 60-day freeze on regulations that aren't in effect yet. Authorities say they plan to use that time to review "questions of fact, law and policy they raise."
Empire State Building projection shines a light on endangered animals
If you were hanging around midtown Manhattan this weekend, you may have noticed some exotic animals projected on to the side of the Empire State Building. What was that all about? As it turns out, that was one of the more ambitious examples of tech-powered advocacy in recent memory. It was Projecting Change, a collaboration between the Oceanic Preservation Society and Obscura Digital that used striking imagery to highlight the plights of endangered species, such as snow leopards and manta rays. The piece relied on 40 stacked projectors to beam 5K video on to the legendary New York City skyscraper. At 33 floors tall, the resulting image was clear within about 20 blocks' radius -- you could have had a good view at 14th Street. There's sadly no talk of repeating the event in the near future, but there are replays both on YouTube and Discovery if you want to see what happened. [Image credit: Joel Sartore and Ron Robinson/Obscura Digital]
Rhino horn cameras promise to catch poachers in the act
Anti-poaching teams can only do so much to protect rhinos. Their immediate presence can deter rogue hunters, but a lot of the slaughter happens before these teams even know that something's wrong. That's where non-profit group Protect's RAPID (Real-Time Anti-Poaching Intelligence Device) should come in handy. The system uses a blend of heart rate sensors, GPS tags and cameras drilled into one of the rhinos' horns (don't worry, it's painless) to warn conservationists when a rhino is under threat. If a rhino's heart starts racing or suddenly goes still, observers get an alert that lets them turn on the camera to see if something's wrong. Ideally, this will prevent poachers from even firing a shot -- they know that they'll likely be caught within minutes if they chase or kill a tagged animal.
