WILDLIFE RESEARCH, REIMAGINED

A closer look.
A lighter touch.

Big questions. Small mammals. A new way to understand wild lives—without the need for capture.

A northern Idaho ground squirrel in its meadow habitat, photographed by Madison Ficca — NORTHERN IDAHO GROUND SQUIRRELUrocitellus brunneus

01 / THE BIG IDEA

Let wildlife be wild.
Let the science come to them.

What if we could recognize a squirrel, track its growth, and understand its survival—all while it goes about its day? Wildmarker brings artificial intelligence and field biology together to make that future possible.

Why a lighter touch matters

$1.04MNSF research investment

2025–28Three years of discovery

5 investigatorsOne shared ambition

02 / THE TECHNOLOGY

A small station.
A new window into the wild.

A visiting animal. Two cameras. Intelligent software. A field instrument designed to turn brief encounters into a deeper understanding of wildlife.

WILDMARKER / PROPOSED INSTRUMENT Proposal schematic showing the instrument cameras, bait dispenser, processor, battery, and weighing platform

Original project design · 30 × 15 × 27 cm

Recognize the species

Computer vision identifies small-mammal visitors.

Know the individual

Research into recognition from natural visual differences.

Measure what matters

An integrated scale and image-based body measurements.

Explore the instrument

03 / GROUNDED IN THE FIELD

Built in Idaho.
For questions everywhere.

The northern Idaho ground squirrel gives this work an urgent purpose. Understanding the lives of small mammals can help us make better decisions for species, habitats, and ecosystems.

Meet our living laboratory