EarthSenseAI Center

A thunder of jets in an open sky, a streak of gray and a cheerful ‘Hi’! (theme song of the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon - https://lnkd.in/gSe_6-U9) While flying squirrels are amazing creatures, unlike the cartoon Rocky they can not actually fly. However, they can glide up to 150 feet from tree to tree using a fold of skin, called a patagium, that extends from their nimble wrists to their flexible ankles. They glide at angles of 30 to 40 degrees and can even maneuver around obstacles in midair. Also unlike the intrepid Rocky, they are nocturnal and thus are rarely seen by people. Amazingly, it has recently been discovered that under ultraviolet light all three species of New World flying squirrels (genus Glaucomys) are fluorescent in varying intensities of pink! The range of the northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) and the Humboldt's flying squirrel (Glaucomys oregonensis) overlap in Western Washington. The two species look very similar, but genetic analysis has shown that they are distinct species that were separated during past glacial expansion. If you are not already doing so, please follow us to see more camera trap videos and to get updates on how we are applying machine learning to accelerate conservation efforts. #WildlifeConservation #AIForConservation #Wildlife #CameraTraps #FlyingSquirrels

🐻 Up close with a curious bear! 🐻 American black bears (Ursus americanus) are highly curious and very intelligent animals. They explore and learn about new objects they encounter by chewing on them and manipulating them with their paws. While most animal species ignore camera traps, black bears will frequently examine them, sometimes even leaving behind teeth and claw marks. Even though they are the smallest of the three bear species in North America, male black bears can weigh up to 660 pounds (300 kilograms) and females can reach 175 pounds (80 kilograms).  Conflict between black bears and the human world can be minimized by not leaving trash or pet food outside either at home or when venturing into the woods. When encountering a black bear, remember that they can run faster and climb trees far better than you can. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife provides great information about preventing conflict with these powerful animals (https://lnkd.in/gpRrCZTp). Otters and beavers and flying squirrels, oh my! We have observed more than 20 animal species in our camera trap array in the Raging River valley in Western Washington (https://lnkd.in/gW-_GwgX). Let us know if you would like us to continue to post select videos from our camera traps, as well as information about the species that inhabit this remarkable area. #WildlifeConservation #AIForConservation #AIForGood #Wildlife #CameraTraps #Bear

Looking an apex predator in the eye... Cougars (Puma concolor) are the fourth largest member of the cat family in the world.  Adult males average around 140 pounds, but may weigh up to 180 pounds and measure 7-8 feet long from nose to tip of their magnificent tails.  They are apex predators that help to maintain the health and diversity of the ecosystem they occupy.  The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates that there are between 1,900 and 2,100 adult individuals in the state. The EarthSenseAI Center maintains a small array of camera traps in the Raging River valley in Western Washington.  Every once in a while we get a capture that can take your breath away, like this video of a Cougar exploring the shore of the river.  Camera traps are an important conservation tool that can provide data on what species are present in a location, the population sizes, and even how species are interacting with each other and the habitat.  However, they generate an enormous number of images, or video, that can take extensive effort to annotate manually.  Artificial intelligence can help to reduce the time to process this important data.  Please visit our terrestrial conservation (https://lnkd.in/g7QSHVc7) page for more information. #WildlifeConservation #AIForConservation #AIForGood #Wildlife #CameraTraps

Volunteers are the lifeblood of non-profit organizations. The EarthSenseAI Center would like to send a huge thank you to our first two volunteers; Kirk Larsen and Ben Luks. Their expertise and enthusiasm make an enormous difference in our ability to achieve our mission of accelerating the use of AI in conservation. Please visit the new volunteer section (https://lnkd.in/gg4vvJim) of our website to learn more!

Sound is a critically important sensing modality in underwater habitats. It is crucial for the survival of many underwater species, such as dolphins and other cetaceans who use it for communications and hunting. Sound can also be used to understand the health of threatened ecosystems, such as coral reefs. The Global Library of Underwater Biological Sounds (GLUBS) is an international partnership whose purpose is to integrate and expand open libraries of underwater sound recordings, as well as to develop and share tools for underwater acoustics analysis. The open sound libraries will enable training of machine learning models for detecting and classifying animal sounds. The EarthSenseAI Center contributes to both the artificial intelligence and cyber-infrastructure working groups of GLUBS. Visit the new GLUBS section of our website for more information:  https://lnkd.in/gX4yQArx

The EarthSenseAI Center is now a public benefit non-profit! We are pleased to announce that the IRS has approved our application as a 501(c)(3) organization. We are dedicated to using artificial intelligence to accelerate understanding of our changing planet.  In celebration, we would also like to invite you to visit our new website at https://lnkd.in/g9h4BEJK. Here you will find information about our current projects to accelerate marine and terrestrial conservation activities through the use of machine learning.