Something Changed

Spot the Penguin: The Penguin Recognition Project.

Robben Island is home to roughly 20,000 African penguins, a threatened species that has declined by 90 percent in the past century. Bristol University scientists set up several cameras along paths well-traveled by the penguins. Software originally developed for recognizing individual human faces picks up the penguins’ fingerprint-like patterns of black and white feathers, and uses these patterns to identify individual animals. By tracking individual penguins through time, scientists can learn how long they live, how frequently they’re reproducing, and what times of year they are most vulnerable. MIT Tech Review