Surveying threatened and invasive species to obtain accurate population estimates is\nan important but challenging task that requires a considerable investment in time and resources.\nEstimates using existing ground-based monitoring techniques, such as camera traps and surveys\nperformed on foot, are known to be resource intensive, potentially inaccurate and imprecise, and\ndifficult to validate. Recent developments in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), artificial intelligence\nand miniaturized thermal imaging systems represent a new opportunity for wildlife experts to\ninexpensively survey relatively large areas. The system presented in this paper includes thermal\nimage acquisition as well as a video processing pipeline to perform object detection, classification\nand tracking of wildlife in forest or open areas. The system is tested on thermal video data from\nground based and test flight footage, and is found to be able to detect all the target wildlife located in\nthe surveyed area. The system is flexible in that the user can readily define the types of objects to\nclassify and the object characteristics that should be considered during classification.
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