Learn Nature. Don't Just Identify It.
Kagn draws its name from /Kaggen, the mantis god — a figure from the oldest stories told in Southern Africa. A creator and shapeshifter, curious about every living thing. We chose the name as a reminder that paying attention to the natural world is one of the oldest human traditions.
Kagn is an AI species identifier that helps you identify birds, plants, insects, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and more — and explains the field marks behind each result.
Take a photo, record a bird call, or ask a question, and Kagn will help you understand what you are seeing in nature. Every identification includes evidence-based explanations that highlight the key field marks — visible colours, shape, structure, and the distinguishing features that separate similar species.
Then you can keep asking. Your photo stays in view, so you can ask why the animal is doing what it is doing — why the bee is working that particular flower, whether the bird looks injured, what the posture means. A name is where most identifiers stop. It is where the interesting part starts.
Kagn is also your personal wildlife journal. Save sightings with photos, audio and video, build your lifelist, and explore what other users are spotting in the community.
Use Plan a Trip to see what you can expect at your next destination: tell Kagn where you are going and it builds a checklist of the species recorded there, flags the ones that would be new to you, and lists the local guides who work that ground — whether you are birding, exploring your garden, visiting a nature reserve, or on safari.
Questions, feedback, or just want to say hello?
hello@kagn.app
kagn.app
iNaturalist (species taxonomy & observations)
GBIF (distribution & occurrence data)
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
BirdLife South Africa
SABAP2 (Southern African Bird Atlas Project)
Wildlife photos and sounds come from Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia and from iNaturalist community contributors, used under Creative Commons licenses (CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA). Some images are cropped or resized. The photographer or recordist and the license for each photo and sound are shown on its species page and in its photo gallery; smaller thumbnails elsewhere in the app link to the species page, where the full credit appears. We are grateful to every photographer and recordist who shares their work under open licenses.
AI suggestions are not guaranteed — always verify with a field guide or expert.