23 Oct 2023

Ted Cheeseman: Can AI and citizen science save our marine mammals?

From Labour Day, 8:35 am on 23 October 2023
Photographers on an IRB in Antarctica take pictures of a whale tail / fluke in the foreground.

Photo: Javier Cotin

Happywhale.com - a global database of of marine mammal images - harnesses the power of citizen science and rapid advancements in AI, to track some of the ocean's largest and most endangered creatures.

You may not have heard of it, but the ambitious conservation project has made its way to Aotearoa's shores.

As the son of Californian naturalists and founders of Cheeseman's Ecology Safaris, Happywhale's founder and director, Ted Cheeseman's path feels predetermined.

Earning a Masters of Science in Conservation Biology, Cheeseman took over the business and led tours to Antarctica ... and the genesis of his work with whales now.

Man in his 40s sitting on the bow of a boat holding a long-lensed camera.

Ted Cheeseman founded Happywhale.com - a conservation project harnessing citizen science and AI - in 2015. Photo: SUPPLIED