Spot animals and plants during your run
Every week, 7 animals and plants appear on your map — sighted near where you run. Pass their location and Strava records your spot automatically.
Free · No credit card · Works with your existing Strava account
How it works
From Strava to your first spot in four steps.
Connect your Strava account
One-time setup. After that, all your runs are analysed automatically — no manual action needed.
Set your running area
Tell us where you usually run. We'll fetch the most recent sightings of animals and plants in that area.
7 animals and plants on the map
Every week you receive 7 new animals and plants. They're placed on actual paths and roads you can run on — not in the middle of a field.
Run and spot automatically
Did you pass within 100 metres of an animal's location? It counts as a spot. Your Strava activity is updated right away with what you found.
What can you spot?
Birds, mammals, amphibians, insects, plants and more — everything spotted by observers in your area.
What's happening behind the scenes?
You don't need to understand any of this to use StravaSpotter — but here's the short version if you're curious.
Sightings from iNaturalist
We pull sightings of animals and plants from iNaturalist: a global platform where millions of volunteers record wildlife every day. The data is open and freely available. We pick the 7 most recent unique species from your running area.
Locations snapped to paths
An observer spotted a fox in a field — but you can't run there. We use OpenStreetMap to move every sighting to the nearest walkable path or road. That way every sighting is somewhere you can actually reach.
Automatic detection via Strava
After each run, Strava sends your GPS route to StravaSpotter. We calculate whether you came within 100 metres of an animal's location. If so, we mark it as spotted and add a short summary to your Strava activity.
Frequently asked questions
Is StravaSpotter free?
Yes, completely free. You only need a Strava account — a free account works fine.
What animals and plants might I encounter?
Anything iNaturalist users have recorded in your area: birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, plants and more.
How long do I have to spot an animal?
7 days per animal. After that it disappears from your map and you receive a new one.
Will my Strava activity be updated automatically?
Yes. Once Strava processes your run, StravaSpotter checks whether you passed an animal's location. If so, the description of your activity is updated automatically.
Ready to start?
Connect Strava and receive your first 7 animals and plants next week.
Connect with Strava