Safaricom has partnered with Vodafone and WWF to create a new AI-powered solution known as m-Twiga to deter Human-Wildlife conflict.
m-Twiga is a cutting-edge 360-camera system that combines Internet of Things (IoT) and AI technology to detect and identify animals within the vicinity. When an animal is detected, the camera system reacts by sending an SMS to alert the wildlife rangers of the animal’s presence and activating a deterrent, such as flashing lights or specific sounds, to ward off the animal.
Human-wildlife conflict occurs when animals and people stray into each other’s ecosystems or compete for the same resources, leading to a negative result. Examples, unfortunately, include wild animals attacking and injuring or killing people, destroying crops, or killing livestock, which often leads to retaliatory killing of the animals. The far-reaching impacts of climate change and the ever-shrinking habitats make the situation worse.
Following testing at the UK’s Longleat Safari Park, the team recently conducted their first field test in Kenya. According to WWF Kenya, over 60% of the country’s wildlife live in communities and private lands outside Protected Areas, where human-wildlife conflict cases are most common.
Evaluating the solution in Kenya’s Mara Siana Community Conservancy has allowed the development team to collect a vast amount of data on animals in their natural habitat, which helps the AI model identify them more quickly and effectively.
