Msafiri-2017-11

68 / WILDLIFE / Conservation
Alamy
ENDANGERED SCAPEGOATS
As well as preventing poachers from
poaching, it’s equally important
to stop international wildlife traffickers
from trafficking, experts point out.
The poachers who are hired to kill
are often small cogs in the big wheels
that are criminal networks. The highly
organised nature of poaching syndicates
means that the “man on the ground” is
doing the dirty work, while a boss far
away is getting rich. A Kenyan poacher,
for example, earns as little as US$5 for
either rhino horn or elephant ivory.
“We know there’s a limitless supply
of poor guys on the ground who are
willing to risk everything; it’s the
middlemen who we need to stop,” says
Peter Knights, Executive Director at
conservation organisation WildAid,
in an interview on Capital FM Kenya.
Therefore, he urges, it’s important to
weaken the wildlife-products market.
One Kenyan initiative that focuses
on the pursuit of traffickers is the
Canines for Conservation programme
from the African Wildlife Foundation.
Specially selected for their friendliness
and playfulness – a trait that improves
detection ability – these “sniffer dogs” are
helping authorities to catch traffickers at
major travel hubs. Because they are so
precise, the dogs can detect even the
smallest amount of wildlife contraband,
like ivory dust.
BOOTS ON THE GROUND
With drones in the sky, dogs at the
airport and infrared lights at night, you
would almost forget the brave and
motivated men on the ground. Spending
their days on the front lines of the battle
against organised crime, rangers are the
eyes and ears of these new technologies.
And they’re the ones who will hopefully,
one day, make ivory bonfires redundant.
What’s next in
anti-poaching?
Robot Rhinos
Rakamera is a rhino-shaped
robot that could live with the rhino
herd and even alert patrols when
poachers are nearby.
Dream drones
New anti-poaching drones – used
in South Africa and Tanzania – are
now outfitted with cameras, video
transmitters and telemetry, and
are able to fly at night for eight
hours straight.
Imitation horn
Techies have developed 3D,
synthetic rhino horn, in the hope
that this fake horn will undercut
the market for the “real” thing.
(Conservation groups don’t think
this will work in practice.)