A South African game reserve recently introduced a new anti-poaching technology that could help threatened species across the world. They first used it to reduce rhino poaching in 2015.

The technology uses a mixture of sensors, biometrics, CCTV and Wi-Fi to detect poachers early. Dimension Data and Cisco introduced it in its “Connected Conservation” efforts. It can reach remote areas in north-west South Africa despite the unavailability of electronic communication.

 

The initiative seeks to track people, and then it collects data on whoever might pose a potential risk to wildlife. It shows who enters a perimeter and then sends park rangers alerts when it notices unusual activity.

 

This new technology has reduced the number of shots fired. It has also cut down the number of wire fence cuts by people who hunt wildlife.

 

Operation Save The Rhinos

South Africa houses most of the rhinos in the world. Black and white rhinos are currently threatened, with the black ones already classifies as endangered. According to the World Wildlife Fund, there are only about 5000 black rhinos left in the world.

 

Poachers notoriously remove the horns of these animals and sell them for very high prices on the black market. Apparently, Rhino horns are sought by some. They believe that it has medicinal powers which can cure hangovers and even cancer. This is because it contains a large amount of Keratin.

 

 

The wildlife-protecting project has now extended to Zambia and will soon kick off in Kenya. However, conservationists working on it are looking to spread its reach to other parts of the world. As far as India, New Zealand and beyond.

 

So far, the project has been a huge success because they have poached no rhinos since January 2017. The operation has been able to reduce poaching by 96% in the first two years of operation.

 

However, in South Africa, there has only been a 26% decrease in the poaching of rhinos since 2017.