SmartWilds: Multimodal Wildlife Monitoring Dataset

Jenna Marie Kline, Anirudh Potlapally, Vedant Yuvraj Patil, Rugved Katole, Tanishka Wani, Penelope Covey, Samuel Stevens, Hari Subramoni, Tanya Berger-Wolf, Christopher Stewart

Submission Track: Short papers presenting ongoing research or work submitted to other venues (up to 5 pages, excluding references)

Keywords: wildlife, multi-modal, dataset, camera-trap, bioacoustic, drone

TL;DR: Multimodal dataset combining drone footage, camera traps, and audio recordings for AI-powered wildlife conservation research

Abstract:

We present the first release of SmartWilds, a multimodal wildlife monitoring
dataset. SmartWilds is a synchronized collection of drone imagery, camera trap
photographs and videos, and bioacoustic recordings collected during summer
2025 at The Wilds safari park in Ohio. This dataset supports multimodal AI
research for comprehensive environmental monitoring, addressing critical needs
in endangered species research, conservation ecology, and habitat management.
Our pilot deployment captured four days of synchronized monitoring across three
modalities in a 220-acre pasture containing Pere David’s deer, Sichuan takin,
Przewalski’s horses, as well as species native to Ohio, including bald eagles, white-
tailed deer, and coyotes. We provide a comparative analysis of sensor modality
performance, demonstrating complementary strengths for landuse patterns, species
detection, behavioral analysis, and habitat monitoring. This work establishes
reproducible protocols for multimodal wildlife monitoring while contributing open
datasets to advance conservation computer vision research. Future releases will
include synchronized GPS tracking data from tagged individuals, citizen science
data, and expanded temporal coverage across multiple seasons.

Submission Number: 31