Mammoth Digital Design
I led the project to deliver Mammoth, a world first data intelligence tool, for the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT). SWT is a pioneering Kenyan based organisation conservation organisation, dedicated to the protection of wildlife and the preservation of habitats in East Africa. Mammoth enables the SWT field force to collect and submit data via mobile phone in real-time, meaning SWT can mobilise resources in the most appropriate ways and give the elephants a greater chance to survive.
Overview
Working with the Kenya Wildlife Service, SWT operates a number of anti-poaching teams, mobile vets units, and aircraft to oversee wildlife across a huge geography. While on patrol, these teams monitor wildlife populations, detect and record illegal activity, rescue orphaned infant animals, remove snares and poaching paraphernalia, treat sick and injured animals, and support the arrest by Kenya Wildlife Service rangers of wildlife offenders.
My team was tasked with creating a digital tool to enable operational teams to report back from the field easily, and in doing so empower the SWT to generate intelligence from the data to optimise their operations.
The aim was to win the race to save the African elephant from extinction by creating near real time management information from the existing field operations.
Discovery
We started by undertaking a research phase to discover the behaviours, needs, goals and pain point of each of the planned types of users, including anti-poaching teams, vets, pilots and operational staff.
Our original plan to visit Kenya and go on patrol with the teams was made impossible by COVID, so we had to adapt. Working with the SWT team, we identified the best way to learn in the circumstance was to go on patrol via WhatsApp. As the rangers went on patrol, they would message us every time they saw something of note, and we could chat about what was going on.
This real time research enabled us to learn about the different needs for each of the user types, and to eventually to built out the required user flows for Mammoth.
At the same time we undertook our initial technical discovery process to help understand the limitations. A couple of the major findings included:
Rangers sometimes go on patrol for 3-4 days at a time, therefore
any digital tool needed to be very kind to a mobile phone battery as there often aren’t any power points to recharge it, and
we needed to select a phone that was very sturdy with as long a battery life as possible
Large parts of the area covered by SWT have no data coverage, and therefore any digital tool would need to work both on- and off-line
Pilots take notes while flying a plane, therefore their interface needs to contain large icons and be as simple as possible.
Going on Patrol
The primary task for the field teams is to go on patrol. They capture notes on what they see, and record the detail of any incidents as they do their best to resolve them. Until now these teams have used pen and paper to record activity. Time sensitive information is relayed by radio to the Operations room, while full data sheets are manually input into a central database on a monthly basis. So the data is out of date by the time it is received, and only a limited amount is captured.
My team developed Mammoth, a digital tool that enables SWT staff to easily collect key data while on-patrol. Mammoth makes data collection easy. You simply log an incident at a location, and then add the details, largely using drop-down menus.
At the end of each patrol, the team submits all of the data they collected, and can also view the patrol on a map.
User Type Views
Built as a progressive web-app using WP Engine, data collection works both online and offline, and each type of user has a different view:
Anti-poaching rangers have a wide range of options, with the ability to capture significant data about each incident
Vets have a similar number of options, but the focus is more on capturing the details of injured animals and how they treated an injured animal
Pilots have large buttons than can be used while flying a plane, and there is more focus on what can be seen from the air (e.g. spotting animals, illegal structures, etc.)
Map View
Users are able to search for specific types on incidents while in map view, so they can visually see whether there are any trends (such as poachers moving in a certain direction), or incident hotspots.
This empowers teams on patrol with real time information to work with, as well as allowing operational staff to do quick analysis.
Data Exports
The dashboard function enables head office users to view and filter the data, for one team or multiple teams. They can then export some or all of the data, so it can be manipulated in another program and used for resource planning.
The medium term plan is to build a data hub to help process all of the additional data in a short timeframe, to enable tomorrow’s patrols to be easily planned today.
Initial Impact.
This is the first time in 45 years SWT has had a real-time snapshot of the human-elephant conflict. Mammoth launched in early 2023 and its impact is being felt by four groups:
SWT and the rangers who are making a bigger impact, helping SWT stay at the global vanguard of solving the human-elephant conflict.
Donors, who see their goodwill and donations helping build a platform that will help tip the balance back in the favour of the conservationists, away from extinction.
The broader Kenyan population, including the farmers who need to provide for their families and communities in a harmonious way, who can be managed better.
And of course, the elephants who have a new ally in the race to survive.
In the words of Rob Brandford, Executive Director, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (UK):
“While in beta-testing, it was clear Mammoth that will transform our field operations.
We will receive exponentially more data than we’ve ever had before, enabling us to plan tomorrow’s patrols using today’s data. We’ll be able to spot trends more quickly and enhance our impact at a field level.
We hope this digital transformation will ultimately help us to move from protection to prevention.”