Conservationists turn to AI to save the red squirrel

An artificial intelligence (AI) tool which has been trained to differentiate between grey and red squirrels could be “an absolute game-changer”, conservationists say. 

The system, called Squirrel Agent, has been trained on thousands of images of the animals, allowing it to tell them apart with 97% accuracy. It can then be used to automatically control access to squirrel feeders — with only reds being allowed into those containing food, and only greys into those where food has been replaced with contraceptive paste. 

Grey squirrels are largely responsible for the dramatic decline of reds. As well as outcompeting reds for food, greys also carry squirrel pox which they are immune to, but is lethal to red squirrels. 

Charles Dutton, director of the European Squirrel Initiative (ESI), told Shooting Times: “ESI welcomes any development to help save our native red squirrels and control the diseased grey squirrels. However, as we understand it, the AI tool will only stop greys from feeding in red squirrel areas, so will only be helpful at the red/grey interface. 

“Greys need to be culled across the country to stop the spread of squirrel pox and to prevent the damage to native broadleaf trees.”