NEW MOBILE APPLICATION ENABLES USERS TO REPORT CARNIVORE SIGHTINGS,
ASSIST IN CONSERVATION EFFORTS
OTJIWARONGO, NAMIBIA (3 Sept. 2015) -- Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), in association with the Large Carnivore Management Association of Namibia (LCMAN), today launched Carnivore Tracker, a new application for mobile devices. Carnivore Tracker enables members of the scientific community, farmers, tourists and local residents to identify and report sightings of carnivore species, thereby contributing distribution data that is used in formulating wildlife conservation strategies.
“We are very excited about this new technology”, said Dr. Laurie Marker, CCF Founder and Executive Director and Chairperson for LCMAN. “Carnivore Tracker enables just about anyone with a mobile telephone to become a scientific research assistant. This will greatly expand the size of our survey areas and also help in speeding up data collection and analyses.” Information collected through Carnivore Tracker includes identification of the species sighted, number of individuals and the GPS location, even if outside network and Wi-Fi coverage areas. Each carnivore species has a photographic icon for easy identification and a brief description of its ecology and status. Carnivore Tracker has been designed so it is simple for everyone to use, regardless of age or species knowledge. Namibian residents can report what they see on a regular basis, and tourists on holiday just passing through can report animals they encounter during their travels. |
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Carnivore Tracker can be downloaded free of charge and is available for both Apple and Android devices. Every three months, users will receive an update on carnivores that have been recorded across Namibia, which will include a map so users can identify how their sightings have contributed.
Combined with other monitoring techniques used by researchers and data collected on human-carnivore conflicts, conservationists hope widespread use of Carnivore Tracker will enable them to focus their attention on specific areas where carnivores are located, to help increase efficacy of their interventions. A brief video demonstrates how the application operates can be seen on the above.
“With better use of limited resources, conservationists will be better able to secure a future for Namibian carnivores for generations to come”, said Dr. Marker.
Combined with other monitoring techniques used by researchers and data collected on human-carnivore conflicts, conservationists hope widespread use of Carnivore Tracker will enable them to focus their attention on specific areas where carnivores are located, to help increase efficacy of their interventions. A brief video demonstrates how the application operates can be seen on the above.
“With better use of limited resources, conservationists will be better able to secure a future for Namibian carnivores for generations to come”, said Dr. Marker.