Hacking GoPros to help save the Atlantic’s rarest bird
1 min read
Summary
The Bermuda petrel, also known as the cahow, was believed to be extinct for centuries until its rediscovery in the 1950s, and even then, its nocturnal life remained a mystery until Jean-Pierre Rouja, a Bermudian conservationist, decided to hack some GoPros and set up one of the earliest 24/7 livestreamed bird cams to observe this critically endangered and elusive species.
Today, Bermuda’s Nonsuch Island is the heart of the world’s only cahow breeding ground, and Jeremy Madeiros, the warden of Bermuda’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources, does the hands-on work at this government nature reserve.
Over 40 million minutes of cahow video have been watched, driving research forward and allowing the team to “ground-truth” theories and discover new truths, and Rouja is using Bermuda as a proof of concept to make DIY conservation fieldwork tech that could be applied anywhere.
If it works, it could be used to roll out at scale and protect other rare species.