How Technology Can Transform Wildlife Conservation

Wildlife is under threat from various kinds of human activities, such as habitat destruction, illegal wildlife trade, spread of invasive species and diseases, and from the human impact on the Earth's climate, which is changing the nature of wild habitats. Advances in technology give conservationists, scientists, and the general public the advantage to better understand the animals, their habitats, and the threats they can face. In this chapter, I provide a review of the benefits of the use of technology to animal ecology and conservation. Two major approaches are being recognized to conserve threatened and endangered wildlife species. The first encompasses protecting the species within their habitat, and the second involves breeding and caring individual species ex situ. The use of technological applications in captivity, such as satellite imaging and assisted breeding technologies, is focused to enhance animal welfare and to influence zoo visitors' awareness of conservation-related behavior. Given the increasing demands on protecting wildlife, it seems a fair time for us to pause and ask what could be the best way to use technological innovations and to stimulate a closer collaboration among conservation practitioners, animal behaviorists, biologists, computer and system scientists, and engineers, to mention but a few.