London - The last remaining rhinos on Earth could be fitted with spy cameras in their horns and heart monitors to help catch poachers in a move hailed as a “game changer” by animal protection activists.
With a rhino killed every six hours in Africa, it is feared the animal could be hunted to extinction by 2035, but a British-made system called Rapid - Real-time Anti-Poaching Intelligence Device - could make all the difference.
The system includes a camera, a heart-rate monitor linked to an alarm and a satellite-tracking device to enable the authorities to scramble a helicopter as soon as a rhino is killed. The camera in the animal's horn would then be used to provide evidence against the poachers.
It is hoped that system, which could also be adapted to fit animals like elephants and tigers, will be trialled in South Africa by early next year.
Dr Paul O'Donoghue, of Chester University, who has worked with endangered black rhino populations for more than 15 years, created Rapid following a dramatic surge in rhino poaching, which has increased 9 000-fold since 2007 in South Africa alone.
“We had to find a way to protect these animals effectively in the field - the killing has to be stopped,” he said. “With this device, the heart-rate monitor triggers the alarm the instant a poaching event occurs, pin-pointing the location within a few metres so that rangers can be on the scene via helicopter or truck within minutes, leaving poachers no time to harvest the valuable parts of an animal or make good an escape.
“You can't outrun a helicopter. Rapid renders poaching a pointless exercise.”
Steve Piper, the director of Protect Rapid, a non-profit organisation, added: “The only thing heading for extinction over the next decade is poaching itself.”
There are about 25 000 rhinos in the wild in the world, with 80 percent of the population in South Africa. An estimated 1 000 rhinos are killed each year - a slaughter fuelled by demand for their horn, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine but is also seen as a status symbol in some Asian countries.
According to the conservation group WWF, there were more than 2 000 northern white rhinos in 1960. Today there are just five, with the sole male, Sudan, under constant armed guard in Kenya even though his horns have been removed to deter poachers.
There are up to 600 000 African elephants but about 35 000 a year are killed by poachers. Both rhinos and elephants could be wiped out within 20 years if the current death rate continues.
Claire Bass, executive director of the Humane Society International UK, which contributed funding to the Rapid project, urged others to support it so the devices could be deployed as soon as possible.
“Reducing market demand is critical to safeguard wildlife long term, but it needs to be coupled with urgent, effective action to stop the current poaching crisis.
“The Protect Rapid could be a game changer in the increasingly desperate fight against poaching, and the technology has the potential to be applied to other critically endangered species including tigers and elephants.
The Independent