LJMU powers Chester Zoo to Africa conservation award

Discovering the secrets of one of the world’s most elusive animals is just one of the exciting outcomes of LJMU’s growing partnership with Chester Zoo.

The Pangolin is one of the least studied animals in the world – but with the help of LJMU technology, conservationists at the world-leading zoo have been given unprecedented access to its movements and habits.

Animal-recognition techniques developed at the university were the catalyst for the Zoo’s Pangolin Project to protect the animal which is highly-prized for its meat and bones.

The work tracking and protecting the animals has now helped earn Chester Zoo a top award at the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums Awards - The Oscars of the Zoo Community.

Chester has worked with Pangolins in Uganda for six years but with the animals devilishly difficult to track, a major breakthrough came by teaming up with LJMU’s Conservation AI team – Professor Paul Fergus and Dr Carl Chalmers. 

Paul and Carl have developed AI-powered animal recognition software which allows scientists to use camera-traps to locate the animals in real-time.

Conservation AI, a machine learning platform with almost 99% accuracy, is used by leading conservation organisations to monitor everything from apes to the hedgehogs.

Chester Zoo’s team set up the long-term monitoring of pangolins with Paul and Carl’s help in Uganda’s Murchison Falls National Park, helping to not only better understand this rare species but also deter illegal poaching and significantly improve response times to threats when detected.

“Over the last six years, our team has worked tirelessly to uncover crucial information about the conservation status of giant pangolins in Uganda, which is helping to inform conservation strategies.,” said Naomi Mathews, Africa Survey and Biomonitoring Coordinator.

“To win best Field Conservation project is a testament to the fantastic team of people working on the project and the strong partnerships we have formed on the ground, such as with the Uganda Wildlife Authority. It is a collective success that we hope will not only help to protect pangolins in Uganda but also provide valuable insights to aid their conservation across their entire range.”

-Conservation AI is being used in the UK to help monitor our struggling hedgehog population.

-Jamie Christon DL, Chief Executive of Chester Zoo received an Honorary Fellowship from LJMU in 2023.