As an important branch of artificial intelligence, image recognition model shows great application potential in the field of wildlife protection. This paper first outlines the basic types of image recognition models, and then elaborates the construction process of wildlife image recognition models, including data acquisition, preprocessing, model training and other key steps. Finally, the application scenarios of image recognition model in wildlife protection are discussed. The research shows that the image recognition model can significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of wildlife conservation, and provide a strong technical support for biodiversity conservation. In the future, with the continuous progress of technology, image recognition models will play a more important role in wildlife protection.