That's a wrap on our eighth annual #Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge!

All this week, you've shared your conservation tech projects with us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and it has been a privilege to see the innovative spirit, ingenuity, and dedication of this community. Over the course of five days, we saw every conceivable type of technology in action, from AI, camera traps, and GPS collars to data analytics software, drones, sensors, and much more!
The goal of our #Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge is to celebrate our community and all the outstanding work you do - but just as importantly, our annual photo challenge is a chance to show the world why conservation technology matters, and how it can transform the way we protect our natural world. This year's challenge wrapped on World Nature Conservation Day, and we're proud that our community can so clearly demonstrate how technology is transforming this field for the better.
For other conservation tech users and makers, the challenge is an opportunity to see what's happening throughout other corners of the field and discover new projects and possibilities. But for many others outside of our community, our photo challenge may reveal to them to conservation technology's wide-reaching impacts for the first time. The stories shared by our community this year have been exceptional in scope and in the impact which they demonstrate, and we can't wait to help those stories reach even more people around the world as this challenge ends and we begin looking forward to showcasing your projects in new ways, and for wider audiences.
Below, you'll find highlights from Day 5 of our #Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge. And stay tuned to WILDLABS for information on how you can vote for our first-ever Community Choice Award, and to see our top honorees for 2023!
Here are today's Twitter highlights:
Tiny backpacks designed to simultaneously conserve 2 endangered Hawaiian birds: the definition of #Tech4Wildlife. The trackers are helping us better understand ‘io and aid in the future reintroduction of ‘alalā, their natural prey, back to native forests. https://t.co/nOVZorBFsP pic.twitter.com/gUEsB5NOoG
— San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (@sandiegozoo) July 28, 2023
1. Last week we translocated 4 critically endangered #kakapo back to mainland NZ - the first time in living memory. One way we’ll keep a close eye on them is through their smart transmitters connected to a data network - as on other kākāpō islands. #Tech4Wildlife #conservation pic.twitter.com/TJU93weVkA
— Dr Andrew Digby (@takapodigs) July 28, 2023
5. Finally, we’ll also use GPS tags to track #kakapo at Maungatautari. These won’t give us “live” locations, but after capture will show home ranges and movements following release - all useful in determining the suitability of this new site. #Tech4Wildlife #conservation #parrots pic.twitter.com/oXreZQ2MK4
— Dr Andrew Digby (@takapodigs) July 28, 2023
#Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge
— Iguanas from Above (@IguanasAbove) July 28, 2023
We are using #drones to monitor endangered Galápagos #marineiguanas. Several colonies where they live have been impossible to access with traditional ground-based methods. Now, #technology is helping us to survey their entire distribution range 🦎 pic.twitter.com/Z2r2E53mey
So far our loggers are being used on animals big and small - including disease transmission experiments in rodents and movement behaviour in Natterjack toads as well as studies involving sea lions, ground squirrels, crabs and even humans! #tech4wildlife pic.twitter.com/fnCiKDdg1k
— Dr. Luci Kirkpatrick (@LuciKirkpatrick) July 28, 2023
Here's a photo from one of our recent test flights in @OlPejeta - can you spot the elephants? #Tech4Wildlife #Conservationtechnology pic.twitter.com/pvbLrvd0aN
— WildDrone (@WildDrone_EU) July 28, 2023
For @WILDLABSNET #Tech4Wildlife week this year we wanted to tell you a little more about ⚡️The whys of the BearID Project⚡️ Why do the whys matter? Tech4Wildlife that is rooted in solving real-world problems holds the most potential for application to conservation.1/n pic.twitter.com/1JdYWOra6J
— BearID Project (@bearid_project) July 28, 2023
Our project is developed by two #WomenInSTEM who seek to promote conservation work. This is a result of a collaboration between institutions from #Ecuador and #Germany: University of Leipzig, Galapagos Science Center, Galapagos National Park.#Tech4Wildlife @CientificasEC pic.twitter.com/dvLb8c1QYV
— Iguanas from Above (@IguanasAbove) July 28, 2023
TMA has a long history of using #Tech4Wildlife, and we pride ourselves on staying on top of the newest and most powerful technological advancements in the fields of #wildlife, #research and #conservation. Today we share an example of our tech for @WILDLABSNET's photo challenge: pic.twitter.com/tHxzfsuLsl
— TMA - Third Millennium Alliance (@tma_earth) July 28, 2023
Nocturnal observations use a lot of #Tech4Wildlife climbing in the dark then spotting wildlife with thermals before switching to night vision binox seen in the previous post. #atneurope @CocoboloNature pic.twitter.com/K2QrwA6xrt
— lucy hughes (@lucy_lucycawte) July 28, 2023
#Tech4Wildlife photo challenge, D5! 📍🇧🇷
— Icas - Wild Animal Conservation Institute (@IcasWild) July 28, 2023
Thanks to camera traps installed in the Atlantic Forest, our researchers could identified 40 individuals of #GiantArmadillo
😟They could be the last viable population of the species in that biome 1/3🧶@WILDLABSNET
📸 @ReconyxInc pic.twitter.com/FcHX5QQoce
Here's a video of just the #AI part with a fun soundtrack #Tech4Wildlife pic.twitter.com/IehW3UEzm8
— Roland Kays (@RolandKays) July 28, 2023
Diving into the #Tech4Wildlife challenge with this video. We are exploring the possibilities of using ROVs to know more about hard-to-access mesophotic reef habitats.#TheHabitatsTrust #TechnologyForConservation pic.twitter.com/iT7a4D2k51
— The Habitats Trust (@HabitatsTrust) July 28, 2023
The data I've worked the most with has been from collars. These provide a great range of data for #Tech4Wildlife . Here is an example of one release mechanism. Fabric! This collar released after 1 year of rough wear and tear. Collar funding from @WILDLABSNET and @BrunBear1! pic.twitter.com/vNs3dDendd
— Alyssa Bohart (@AMBohart) July 28, 2023
The water was cold that day my friends… Tracking Bellinger River Snapping Turtles #SavingOurSpecies #Tech4Wildlife pic.twitter.com/raJ4560Fwd
— Daniel Cain (@foolforaclient) July 28, 2023
An ultra-affordable #Tech4Wildlife setup. Self-build @Raspberry_Pi powered time-expanding bat detector (£20), speaker (£25) (even cheaper, a £5.99 10m aux cable to the living room stereo) for long evenings of listening pleasure as the bats fly around the garden. @WILDLABSNET pic.twitter.com/1PGjcQ7GAQ
— Phil Atkin (@RamonesKaraoke) July 28, 2023
#Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge!
— 3Diversity (@3Diversity_ec) July 28, 2023
Fostering biodiversity Research! We are creating #OpenAccess #3Dmodels of amphibian and reptile museum specimens of @Bioweb Ecuador using #photogrammetry, so that everyone can interact with them without the risk of damaging the original specimen. pic.twitter.com/vG28TrKiLJ
Using collar data and Google Earth, we can visualize movements! Orange is a female human-habituated bear and blue is a male non-habituated bear. The valley she spends her time in is full of campgrounds, day-use areas, and hiking trails. The Highwood Pass is less developed... 🧵 pic.twitter.com/0BllTJeROi
— Alyssa Bohart (@AMBohart) July 28, 2023
Last day of WILDLABSNET's #Tech4Wildlife photo challenge! 🐦🦋🌍 And WORLD #NATURE #CONSERVATION DAY!
— Rainforest Connection (@RainforestCx) July 28, 2023
We have an impact on the natural world around us, and we have to take responsibility for that impact. So join us in #connecting with the great outdoors #usingtechtoprotect and… pic.twitter.com/IyYIutZJSz
Here are today's Instagram highlights:
And here are a couple of the latest posts from LinkedIn:

Thank you to everyone who participated in our #Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge this year! Stay tuned for our Community Choice Awards and our Top Honorees list, soon to be shared right here on WILDLABS.
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