New technology used to catch pachers

Poaching is one of the biggest risks to endangered species, threatening the existence of species from elephants to lions to the little-known pangolin. Animals become subject to poaching due to a demand for products made from various body parts, such as rhino horns being collected for unsuccessful medical treatments or elephant tusks to be carved into jewelry and other luxuries. The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) states that rhino horn sells for $30,000 a pound, whereas elephant ivory goes for around $1,000 per pound, though most of this is sold illegally in China. The AWF also states that at current poaching rates, elephants, rhinos and many other iconic African species will be gone within our lifetime.

The usual solutions to poaching, described by the World Wildlife Fund, include anti-poaching patrols, monitoring sales for illegal products and promoting wildlife tourism to shift communities’ dependency on poaching products. The newest method includes DNA analysis, a method developed by Cindy Harper, P.h.D., a veterinarian at the University of Pretoria, and her colleagues. According to the New York Times, her team has collected DNA from over 20,000 rhinos and have taught park rangers how to retrieve blood, tissue and hair samples from dead and dehorned rhinos. This genetic database is used to match horns and blood found on suspected poachers and traffickers.  

Another attempt, also described by New York Times, is led by Sam Wasser, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington. His team collects DNA from elephant dung to create maps of the ranges of various groups based on genetic variety. This, in turn, helps to show where seized ivory originally came from. This project led to the discovery that poachers are mainly getting ivory from two specific locations, southeastern Tanzania and northern Mozambique.

Catching poachers has diversified even farther than this due to recent technology based methods, each described in a list from National Geographic. One of these methods is Wildleaks, a site that allows people to anonymously report wildlife crimes internationally and educates users on laws involving poaching and illegal logging. California has gone on to create its own state-level version in an app called CalTIP. Similar apps have been developed in Vietnam, China and Afghanistan to help law enforcement officers identify and handle illegally trafficked wildlife they come in contact with. These apps require no Internet connection, so they allow authorities quick access to information in remote environments. Another method on the rise is thermal imaging, used to track illegal entry into protected areas. The cameras are placed on the perimeter of parks and conservation areas, and send alerts directly to rangers when human motion is detected. Similar to the thermal method, the Rainforest Connection is using acoustic traps to detect illegal logging in Borneo. Recycled cell phones, outfitted with solar panels and antennas that work as sensors, are placed throughout the forest and record and then directly transmit sounds associated with logging, such as engines, explosions or gunfire.

The World Wildlife Fund is also contributing to more modern attempts at poaching prevention, by sending out unmanned drones, providing wildlife tags, and using SMART, a ranger patrol analysis software program. SMART, or Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool, described in the aforementioned National Geographic list, takes data from ranger patrols, analyzes local poaching trends, and keeps track of law enforcement to help rangers more effectively combat wildlife crime in 120 conservation areas in 27 countries. The system includes knowledge of animal behavior and movements for each of the areas to better understand how animals live and interact in areas of concern.

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Those involved with developing and using new ways to catch poachers are hopeful that this will decrease poaching by stopping and detering poachers.