This 8-year-old used AI to build an app that warns neighbours about wild animals

An eight-year-old from Canada has built Urban Wild Watch, a free app that lets communities report wildlife sightings. Using Claude and Lovable, Viyoohan Sayooran created a live map that shows general areas instead of exact animal locations, helping people stay informed without disturbing wildlife.An eight-year-old from Canada has built Urban Wild Watch, a free app that lets communities report wildlife sightings. (YouTube/@Viyoohan S and Urban Wild Watch)When coyotes and bears began appearing around his neighbourhood in Markham, Canada, eight-year-old Viyoohan Sayooran had a question: what if neighbours could warn each other about wildlife without putting the animals in danger?His answer was Urban Wild Watch, a free wildlife reporting app he built with the help of AI.The app lets people report sightings of coyotes, bears, foxes, deer and other wildlife. Users can also report injured or orphaned animals and find information on how to respond safely.The app launched on June 5 and had recorded more than 150 wildlife encounters across Canada and the US by July. Wildlife encounters are a common problem in Canada. In Toronto alone, 2,584 coyote sighting reports were recorded in 2024, alongside 303 public-safety encounters and 91 attacks or bites involving dogs.HE REFUSED TO SHOW EXACT LOCATIONSThere is one unusual feature on the Urban Wild Watch app that makes Viyoohan's idea stand out. Urban Wild Watch does not reveal the exact location of an animal. Instead, it shows only the general area.The reason is simple: Viyoohan did not want people rushing to a wildlife sighting just to take photographs."I designed it this way because I did not want crowds of people rushing over just to take pictures for social media. That could frighten the animal and put both people and wildlife in danger," he says in the YouTube video he uploaded detailing the features of his app.HE USED AI TO TURN THE IDEA INTO A REAL APPViyoohan used Claude to organise his ideas and Lovable to help turn plain-English instructions into a functioning web app.The project shows how AI tools are changing who can build technology. Viyoohan did not need to spend weeks writing every line of code before testing his idea.And his goal was not simply to make something impressive.He just wanted people and wildlife to coexist more safely.- EndsPublished On: Sep 9, 2026 18:17 IST