Save the Zebras: Yeah, There’s An App For That

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Okay, maybe it’s not to be found on an iPhone, but could high-tech software be the unlikely key to saving endangered species?

Believe it or not, saving a species can be a surprisingly complex matter.  And with only 2,500 Grevy Zebras living in the wild today, Marwell Wildlife, a Kenyan based conservation charity has teamed up with IBM to analyze why and how people hunt the rare animal, reports Treehugger.

Thanks to IBM’s analytical software, the charity is able to pinpoint the threats faced by the Grevy Zebra by tracking habitat areas, migration routes, taking photos and questioning nomadic communities in far north of Kenya.  By looking at the problem from as many angles as possible, the software is able to assist conservationists in finding exactly where and how the Grevy’s Zebra can be saved.

One of the main findings? Hunting is the largest threat to the Grevy Zebra.  But with little access to medical care out in the bush, it turns out the nomadic communities hunt the animal for its fats to make traditional medicine to fight TB or even a simple headache.  The charity concluded that if investments were made in urban development and access to certain basic medicines there would be less of a need to hunt the Grevy Zebra.