World’s famous national reserve, Maasai Mara, has become the latest park to adopt the use of Earthranger (ER) software as part of its efforts to protect wild animals.
The software which provides real-time monitoring of activities inside the park is expected to help in enhancing conservation as well as solving related challenges.
It will assist the park managers, ecologists and wildlife biologists in making informed decisions for wildlife conservation.
“ER uses artificial intelligence to combine real-time data from rangers’ patrols, remote imaging and various other sensors to display a complete picture of wildlife in its habitat,” Edward Arkle, an official from 51 Degrees said during the launch.
EarthRanger is operated by 51 Degrees, a Kenyan Limited Company that specialises in management oversight of protected wildlife areas and data collection.
Narok Governor Patrick Ole Ntutu, UNDP Deputy Director Programmes Madelena Monoja, Tourism CEC Johnson Sipitiek and Chief Officer for Tourism Samwel Leposo were present during the launch at the reserve.
The software was created in 2015 in response to the Great Elephant Census and it is part of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence’s portfolio and embodies the late Paul G. Allen’s vision of using Artificial Intelligence for the common good.
It functions best in protected areas, vast expanses of land with wildlife facing threats of habitat loss, community encroachment, poaching and climate change.
These habitats and animals need to be continually mandated and the new software is a very effective solution in the movement across the ecosystems, ranging from specific areas to continent-wide migrations.
The software works by collecting, integrating and displaying all historical and available data and combining it with field reports, the ER provides a unified view of tagged wildlife, rangers and infrastructure within a protected area.
It was installed with collaboration with the Narok county government, the management of Maasai Mara National Reserve, the Safari Collection Footprint Trust, 51 Degrees alongside construction of the building which houses a state-of-the-art control room which will coordinate the operations and monitoring.
Other partners are the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, UNDP, Connected Conservation Foundation, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, American Rhino Foundation, Mara Conservancy and Foundation Segre who supported the programme.
Speaking during the event, Ntutu said that the Maasai Mara National Reserve Management Plan 2023-2032 highlighted several challenges facing the Mara ecosystem.
“By realising the potential of cutting-edge technologies to address some of these challenges, the County decided that ER would be an effective tool to improve and professionalize management and tackle some of the threats facing the Maasai Mara National Reserve,” he said.
He added that the wildlife conservation software acts as a centralized data management tool, helping the rangers and the park management to access data on wildlife conservation.
“The platform will be a driver of unity by guiding collective efforts with data-driven methods to help respond to human-wildlife conflict,” said the county boss.
The governor said that the Maasai Mara Conservation Centre will make it easier to manage the great resource.
“For a long time, we have been managing this resource without a clear formula but with a new conservation centre in place, it will help the management to protect this habitat,” he lamented.
On his part, Sipitiek said that the software will provide real-time data on ranger movements, tourism vehicles and tagged wildlife.
“Apart from giving real data information on wildlife, the Earthranger station will give data on natural resources like forestry and landscape through census and that will aid greatly in managing the reserve,” Sipitiek said.
He also noted that ER would also help the reserve management to monitor anti-poaching patrols even though the poaching activities are minimal in the park, visitor impact and wildlife movements.
“The software has improved the protection of Mara’s black rhino population which is under threat and also helps in reducing tourist overcrowding, curb human-wildlife conflicts and inform conservation and management strategies,” he said.
The CEC said the new system will help in controlling speed limits for tourists’ vehicles by ensuring that they follow the park rules and regulations by not endangering the lives of the tourists and also those of the wildlife.
“The management of the park can now comfortably have managed the entire national reserve without any hindrance by working closely with neighbouring Maasai Mara conservancies which are also protecting the wildlife,” Sipitiek said.
Maasai Mara is one of the wildlife conservation and wilderness areas in Africa, with its populations of lions, leopards and elephants.
The national reserve also hosts the great wildebeest migration and has been touted as the eighth wonder of the world attracting thousands of tourists to the country each year to see this migration between July and September.
The greater Mara ecosystem encompasses areas known as the Maasai Mara National Reserve, the Mara Triangle, and other several conservancies.
