Graphical abstract for Beth Rosenberg’s paper on using a novel approach for identifying individual brown bears over time, despite the challenges of identifying non-patterned species (i.e., not giraffes or tigers).

From the authors:

Despite remarkable advances in computer vision that have transformed the identification of patterned species, reliably distinguishing individuals in unmarked species remains an open challenge. Here, we curate a novel dataset of visually identified individual Alaskan coastal brown bears (Ursus arctos). Identification of these bears is notoriously difficult, yet our new model is able to leverage biometric information that enables individual re-identification (ReID) with promising accuracy for future research and conservation efforts… read more