Rhinowatch tracks endangered animals with SAS®

“Endangered black and white rhinos are reaping the rewards of SAS software, thanks to two innovative researchers. If funding can be found, tigers, too, can benefit from the technology.

“Their fierce roars echo through the trees, filling every inch of the Carnivore Preservation Trust. Beneath beautifully striped pelts, their muscles move gracefully as they stalk each other — and their human visitors — through 12-foot high fences. And their massive paws leave impressive tracks, tracks that can be used like fingerprints to identify individual animals or classify others by certain characteristics. These tracks could be important steps in the effort to save the species.

“Far away from this central North Carolina sanctuary for carnivores, wildlife biologists Zoe Jewell and Sky Alibhai of Rhinowatch build the database of tiger paw prints that forms the heart of this conservation project. These scientists were recognized recently with a Smithsonian Award from Computerworld magazine for ground-breaking work in foot-print identification and the resulting counting and monitoring of endangered rhinos. Now they have turned their attention to tigers.”

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