Tiger-tagging app launched

A new app is asking users to "tag" tigers, to help researchers count and track the animals.

The app gathers images from across the internet that are associated with the word "tiger".

It then asks the player for information about the photo, to determine if there is a real tiger in the picture, and what the big cat is doing.

It's hoped this will help researchers keep track of tigers and what they are up to.

Aaron Mason, who helped develop the project, told the BBC: "The app pulls in photos from the internet which have the word tiger associated with them."

"That brings up all manner of images - from baseball teams, to cuddly toys, to furry cats and pets. We want to get rid of that noise," he explained.

Once the photos have been analysed by the public, the team hopes to use facial recognition technology to build up a profile of individual tigers.

The researchers are hopeful that anyone who plays the game will make a useful contribution to monitoring the number of tigers in the wild.

The project has emerged from research at the University of Surrey, where a team of computer scientists has a particular passion for wildlife conservation.