The fight to save our rhinos is getting an upgrade. The new technology, known as Rapid (Real-time Anti-Poaching Intelligence Device) is impressive. Plus, there's top-secret spy cameras involved. It's one last, drastic effort to save rhinos from extinction.
"Rapid Renders Poaching a Pointless Exercise"
As reported in The Independent, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/rhinos-horns-to-be-fitted-with-spy-cameras-and-alarms-to-help-catch-poachers-10400423.html endangered rhinos will have spy cams fitted on their horns to catch poachers in the act, and, ultimately, convict them. An alarm will also be connected to a heart-rate monitor and a satellite-tracking device to pinpoint the poachers in real-time. Rangers will use helicopters to trap poachers before they can escape or before …show more content…
In 2013, a game reserve in South Africa took the unconventional approach of poisoning rhino horns, as to render them useless for human consumption. As reported in The Guardian, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/04/rhino-horns-poisoned-poachers-protect rhino protectors concocted "a mix of parasiticides and indelible pink dye" and injected it into the horn. Anyone that would consume it would become seriously ill -- the side effects included nausea, stomach ache, diarrhea. Fortunately, the mix wasn't lethal to humans.
But the controversy doesn't end there. A big conservation issue in the fight to protect rhinos is dehorning -- removing around 90 percent of a rhino's horn. According to Save the Rhino, https://www.savetherhino.org/rhino_info/issues_for_debate/de-horning while dehorning has a place in rhino conservation, it should be a last resort, and it isn't a magic bullet. Dehorning is actually worthless without "extensive anti-poaching security and monitoring efforts" and a "publicity drive to ensure that poachers are aware that the rhinos have been
"Rapid Renders Poaching a Pointless Exercise"
As reported in The Independent, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/rhinos-horns-to-be-fitted-with-spy-cameras-and-alarms-to-help-catch-poachers-10400423.html endangered rhinos will have spy cams fitted on their horns to catch poachers in the act, and, ultimately, convict them. An alarm will also be connected to a heart-rate monitor and a satellite-tracking device to pinpoint the poachers in real-time. Rangers will use helicopters to trap poachers before they can escape or before …show more content…
In 2013, a game reserve in South Africa took the unconventional approach of poisoning rhino horns, as to render them useless for human consumption. As reported in The Guardian, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/04/rhino-horns-poisoned-poachers-protect rhino protectors concocted "a mix of parasiticides and indelible pink dye" and injected it into the horn. Anyone that would consume it would become seriously ill -- the side effects included nausea, stomach ache, diarrhea. Fortunately, the mix wasn't lethal to humans.
But the controversy doesn't end there. A big conservation issue in the fight to protect rhinos is dehorning -- removing around 90 percent of a rhino's horn. According to Save the Rhino, https://www.savetherhino.org/rhino_info/issues_for_debate/de-horning while dehorning has a place in rhino conservation, it should be a last resort, and it isn't a magic bullet. Dehorning is actually worthless without "extensive anti-poaching security and monitoring efforts" and a "publicity drive to ensure that poachers are aware that the rhinos have been