Microsoft Launches Open-Source AI Tool to Help Save Tanzania’s Endangered Giraffes


Tech giant Microsoft has announced the launch of a new open-source AI tool designed to help conservationists track and protect endangered animal species, starting with Tanzania’s iconic giraffes.

Known as  GIRAFFE (Generalized Image-based Re-Identification using AI for Fauna Feature Extraction), the tool identifies individual giraffes based on unique spot patterns with over 90% accuracy.

‘’GIRAFFE uses advanced AI to identify individual giraffes based on their unique spot patterns, similar to how facial recognition works for humans.’’ Juan Lavista Ferres, Corporate Vice President and Chief Data Scientist of Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab, said in a blog post.’’

With over 90% accuracy, the tool provides critical support to conservation efforts by enabling researchers to monitor giraffe populations more efficiently and non-invasively.’’

This innovation builds on more than a decade of collaboration between the Microsoft AI for Good Lab and the Wild Nature Institute to support the Masai Giraffe Conservation Project, a key initiative working to reverse the alarming decline of giraffe populations in East Africa.

One of GIRAFFE’s most powerful features is its accessibility. Available now on GitHub, the tool is designed to be user-friendly for scientists and conservationists without coding skills. It enables them to upload images and receive accurate animal IDs without the need for advanced technical expertise.

Beyond giraffes, the platform is also scalable and adaptable for use with other species that have visually distinctive markers such as zebras, tigers, whale sharks, and more, making it a versatile solution for global conservation efforts.

The GIRAFFE project represents the latest example of how artificial intelligence and big data are transforming wildlife conservation. By automating the process of individual animal identification, researchers can collect better data, faster, and at scale, empowering conservationists with real-time insights that help inform policy and protect endangered species.

As Lavista Ferres notes in the blog post, “We’re excited to see how the open-source GIRAFFE project can help researchers and organisations around the world harness the power of AI to protect wildlife.”

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By Reginah Wamboi

Reginah is a seasoned Kenyan journalist with a keen interest in tech, business and African startups. Send tips to editorial@techtrendsmedia.co.ke

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