Anti-Poaching Efforts Around the Word
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Poachers Beware: Airware Demonstrates a Drone to Protect African Rhinos
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South Africa moves 500 rhinos from Kruger National Park to combat poachers
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The Fight Against Rhino and other Big Animal Poaching
The Problem
The slaughter of Rhinos (and Elephants) for their horns (and tusks) to meet the demand from the rising middle- and upper-class Chinese and Vietnamese citizens. Their belief that the horns (and tusks) provide medicinal benefit is driving this demand to such a high volume that Rhino horns are going for ~60,000 USD on the black market (more than gold!).
The Rhino horn, in particular, has no health value whatsoever - being made of keratin and calcium. Yet their death and soon extinction is the value that will be lost forever, if we don’t aggressively address this atrocity. It will take generations of education to change this belief.
Currently, the poor and desperate people of Mozambique’s western border have become the misguided “weapons” as Rhino poachers driven by large organized crime groups.
A Unified Approach
As an Advisor to Team AREND (Aircraft for Rhino and ENvironmental Defense - also Afrikaans for "Eagle"), I had the opportunity to help create solutions using UAVs (Drones) for patrolling Rhinoceros habitat that is threatened by poaching. There are many, many organizations fighting this fight with ex-military soldiers, environmental groups, university scholars and many new technologies like unmanned aerial vehicles.
Learn more about Team AREND.
The slaughter of Rhinos (and Elephants) for their horns (and tusks) to meet the demand from the rising middle- and upper-class Chinese and Vietnamese citizens. Their belief that the horns (and tusks) provide medicinal benefit is driving this demand to such a high volume that Rhino horns are going for ~60,000 USD on the black market (more than gold!).
The Rhino horn, in particular, has no health value whatsoever - being made of keratin and calcium. Yet their death and soon extinction is the value that will be lost forever, if we don’t aggressively address this atrocity. It will take generations of education to change this belief.
Currently, the poor and desperate people of Mozambique’s western border have become the misguided “weapons” as Rhino poachers driven by large organized crime groups.
A Unified Approach
As an Advisor to Team AREND (Aircraft for Rhino and ENvironmental Defense - also Afrikaans for "Eagle"), I had the opportunity to help create solutions using UAVs (Drones) for patrolling Rhinoceros habitat that is threatened by poaching. There are many, many organizations fighting this fight with ex-military soldiers, environmental groups, university scholars and many new technologies like unmanned aerial vehicles.
Learn more about Team AREND.
