IBM Analytics Software To Save Endangered Zebras

IBM software is at the forefront of the battle to save the endangered Grevy’s zebra in Africa, an endangered species with less than 2,500 individuals left in the wild.

Big Blue is working with Marwell Wildlife, a conservation charity that is using IBM’s predictive analytics software to help it assess the results of a survey regarding Grevy’s zebra.

The survey was conducted among local nomadic herdsmen in Northern Keyna. The herdsmen were interviewed about their attitudes towards the zebras, what they think the key threats facing them are and where they think they are located within a large region of Africa.

Identify Issues

Marwell Wildlife said that it used IBM’s predictive analytics software to help identify patterns and analyse data which will help inform decisions on conservation measures for Grevy’s zebra. The problem has been that there is some uncertainty about the actual numbers because the zebras range over a vast area and are therefore notoriously difficult to count.

“The IBM predictive analytics software is critical in analysing the information we collect from the field. The data from the surveys is vast and complex and requires powerful software to analyse it. The software is ideal for identifying trends and patterns from this data,” said Dr. Guy Parker, Head of Biodiversity Management at Marwell Wildlife.

“The survey collected a lot of field information that contained complex data sets, and the IBM analytical software helped us to identify patterns in the data,” Dr Parker told eWEEK Europe UK. “The survey was conducted among the nomadic tribal communities of northern Keyna, which presented a number of logistical challenges such as languages barriers, but gave us a huge amount of information.”

“Back in the 1970s, the Grevy’s zebra was 15,000 strong, but it has declined across Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya, often because it was shot for meat, a rolling ten year drought, and the fact that it was competing with tribal livestock and so would get pushed to the edge of the good grass and water supplies,” said Dr Parker.

Hunting Problem

“What came out of the survey was that the hunting in Northern Keyna was mostly to produce traditional medicines from the zebra’s body fat,” he added. “If herding communities were able to access modern medicines then the need for hunting would be much reduced.”

“We were able to summarise data collected from the 230 people questioned, and we were able to get their sightings of the zebra and pinpoint our resources to save the wildlife,” said Dr Parker “We looked at the local attitudes to the zebra, which were positive in general, as the zebra presented few actual problems to local people, and by using IBM analytics we were able to look at what influenced their attitudes to the zebra, and perceived benefits such as opportunities for tourism etc. If people are positive towards something, it is much easier to establish community reserves.”

The far north of Kenya is vast and contains large numbers of wildlife, but there are currently only two conservation areas in the whole of the far north, so there is little protection for the wildlife in that region.

Other Species

“In future, this zebra information is the starting point, and we will move onto ground survey data etc,” said Dr Parker. “If we find that combination of data analysis is successful, the sky is the limit and the potential is to use this software for all these species we work with. I certainly believe if things work well in next year we roll it out to other species.”

Marwell worked with its project partners, including Northern Rangelands Trust, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Grevy’s Zebra Trust, Kenya Wildlife Service, Denver Zoo and St Louis Zoo, as well as a number of community conservancies across northern Kenya.

“The work at Marwell Wildlife takes the use of analytics to a whole new level,” said Colin Shearer, predictive analytics strategist at IBM. “It is great to see analytics play such a critical part towards the conservation of Wildlife.”