A proposal for a technology-assisted approach to wildlife management in Singapore
Melvin Chen
A * , Alvin De Jun Tan B , Wei Liang Quek A and Haroun Chahed A
A Philosophy, School of Humanities, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639818, Singapore.
B School of Computer Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
Pacific Conservation Biology 29(1) 1-16 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC21055
Submitted: 12 August 2021 Accepted: 12 December 2021 Published: 20 January 2022
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing
Abstract
The long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis fascicularis) is a non-human primate species that is native to Singapore. From mid-2020, the Nanyang Technological University campus witnessed a sharp increase in the number of human–macaque encounters. In this article, we will first identify a set of technological tools that we have developed to guide decision- and policy-making on the wildlife management front and mitigate human–macaque conflict. Thereafter, we will describe how we applied these tools to the activity log cataloguing the macaque activity on campus and offer an analysis of the trends in macaque behaviour that may be shared with members of the public and affected residents. Among the results that will be discussed are the following: a significant decline in the number of macaque sightings at Student Residences over the weekend, a majority of the reported macaque sightings occurring in the early evening, no significant difference in the damage and proximity scores over time, and a trend in observed macaque activity at critical sleep-relevant time intervals and areas on campus. We hope that our approach will promote, through an improved and data-driven understanding of macaque behavioural trends, technology-assisted decision-making and a more harmonious co-existence between humans and macaques on campus and in Singapore. Last but not least, we anticipate further extensions of our approach with respect to other forms of wildlife.
Keywords: computational methods, computer science, data science, geospatial information processing, human–wildlife conflict, long-tailed macaque, Macaca fascicularis, mammals, wildlife management.
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