Florida Officials Need You to Identify Animals Captured on Trail Cameras

A turkey and a deer can be seen in a photo captured on a trail camera in the state of Florida | Image via Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Florida officials are asking people to identify wildlife in photos captured on trail cameras across the state.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has launched Florida Wildlife Watch, a new statewide participatory science program hosted on the Zooniverse web platform.

The initiative invites the public to spend a few minutes per day or more reviewing and classifying trail camera images to help state biologists monitor animal populations and guide environmental conservation efforts. Through Florida Wildlife Watch, participants will identify images of animals captured on trail cameras deployed across the FWC’s Wildlife Management Area system, which spans more than six million acres of public lands throughout the state.

A trail camera image shows another animal in Florida | Image via Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Participants may spot a wide variety of native wildlife on camera, including white-tailed deer, bobcats, black bears, wild turkeys, wading birds, and many other species on trail camera photos taken in Florida.

“Florida Wildlife Watch connects people at home to nature while having a real impact on conservation,” says Graysen Boehning, FWC Statewide Participatory Science Coordinator, in a statement. “Even just a few classifications can be incredibly important in helping us understand the incredible ecosystems and wildlife we have here in Florida.”

The classifications submitted by volunteers help biologists and land managers monitor wildlife populations, track ecosystem health, and guide conservation and management decisions statewide.

Trail cameras are an important tool for wildlife monitoring because they allow biologists to observe animals across large landscapes with minimal disturbance. However, processing the massive number of photos generated by these cameras can take significant time. Florida Wildlife Watch allows the public to play a meaningful role in helping biologists sort and classify wildlife images while learning more about Florida’s incredible biodiversity.

As of the time of this writing, 1,002 volunteers have made 228,764 classifications. The animal photos are organized alphabetically, currently starting with an alligator and ending with a wild hog. Floridians interested in participating can access the image catalog online at Zooniverse.org through the Florida Wildlife Watch project page.

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