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Wildlife Tracker – App developed to help save the kea
Wellington-based ICT business, Boost New Media, has developed a brand new app for the Kea Conservation Trust named ‘Wildlife Tracker’ enabling New Zealanders and tourists to help locate the endangered South Island parrot, the kea. As the world’s only alpine parrot, the kea is a symbol of the South Island with its olive-green feathers and glorious orange under-wing. Known for their intelligence and curiosity, the kea has had full protection by the New Zealand government since 1986 but needs all the help it can get. Boost New Media, a web/app development and Agile training consultancy, developed the app as pro bono work after meeting Tamsin Orr-Walker, Chair of the Kea Conservation Trust at the Boost Start-Up Weekend in Queenstown, October 2014. “Tamsin’s idea for an app that could help to protect and identify the kea and other wildlife inspired me,” says Boost New Media’s general manager. “We believe in protecting wildlife, and as the Kea Conservation Trust would not be able to afford to develop the app without assistance, it was a great opportunity.” The app is a simple, yet effective tool designed for New Zealanders and tourists to identify and track kea and other wildlife in the New Zealand bush. When the user opens the app, they have three options: take a photo, submit a photo from their picture library, or search wildlife animals. When a photo is taken or submitted, the app takes the user to a list of birds and animals endangered in New Zealand. Once the user has selected the animal they have photographed, the information is directly submitted into an email. The email includes the photo and GPS coordinates of where the photo was taken. Once the email is sent, the Kea Conservation Trust is able to analyse the data and track the birds. The crowd sourced information will allow for the Kea Conservation Trust to track kea and their movements, allowing for better protection by understanding their movements and patterns. This app will not only benefit kea, but it will also assist in collecting data on other species and directly support other conservation projects from all over New Zealand. Tamsin Orr-Walker, Chair of the Kea Conservation Trust, stated, “There are many of us in conservation who are passionate about protecting wildlife, but we don’t have the resources to keep tabs on all of the animals that need our help. This app will allow people all around New Zealand to help us track and identify kea and other endangered species.” The app is currently available in the Apple Store at no charge, and a free Android app is currently in development.
All photos: Nathan Donaldson
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