Methodology: Animal Identifier + Scanner

Where our information comes from

Every measurement and field mark in the sign guides comes from a state or federal wildlife agency, a university extension service or a natural history museum, and each guide lists the pages it relies on. Track sizes are never estimated from memory; if no agency page gives a number, the guide does not give one either. The review ledger lives in the repository as SIGNS-REVIEW.md.

How we use AI

AI powers the identification in the app and may help draft the guides. On this site, every claim is checked against its source before a page becomes indexable.

What an identification is

A result from the app is an AI read of a photo with a match score; it is a fast first answer, not an expert determination, and a distant or blurry animal gets a lower score rather than a confident guess. The guides never reassure you about getting close to a wild animal or picking one up. For snakes, large predators and anything that could bite, the guidance is the same everywhere: keep your distance and follow your local wildlife agency.

Corrections

We want to get this right. If you spot an error, tell us and we'll review it against the sources and update the guide.

How a field-sign guide is built

Each guide names the species involved with their Latin names, lists the marks in the order a person checks them in the field (size first, with both inches and centimeters), names the signs it is confused with and the single detail that separates them, and says where and when the sign turns up. Guides are re-checked against their sources at least once a year.