Africa Wild

They look very handy.

http://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/hi-tech- ... gGAqxHtmko

Hi-tech solution to beat poachers

September 21 2015 at 10:38pm
By Melanie Gosling



RHINO in KwaZulu-Natal reserves are being fitted with tracking devices in a bid to stay one step ahead of relentless poaching attacks, while communications between conservation staff will be encrypted so they cannot be intercepted by poaching syndicates.

The tracking programme, announced today to mark World Rhino Day, is the first of four high-technology projects being implemented by Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife in partnership with the Peace Parks Foundation.

So far a test group of rhino have been fitted with sensors and the game reserves equipped with tracking systems so rangers can monitor the animals’ movements. Within the next month, 20 rhino will have been fitted with the devices.

Conservation staff say the sensors will enable rangers to keep an eye on the rhino, to get to the scene fast if a rhino is attacked – which may mean they are able to save the animal – and is likely to help in making arrests.

They say while it is important to save all rhino, it is critical to save those in KwaZulu-Natal reserves because these have the most diverse genetic pool – important to ensure the viability of future rhino populations.

But the two organisations are keeping mum as to the locations where the rhino have been fitted with sensors.

Peace Parks Foundation Lise-Marie Greeff-Villet said yesterday: “We have to keep locations close to our chests at this stage for security reasons.”

Rangers will monitor rhino with the devices to ensure these do not interfere with the animals’ behaviour or health.

The other three anti-poaching projects are improvements in gate control, security and surveillance infrastructure, and top-of-the-range digital communications.

“There will be surveillance towers across reserves and a new centralised digital communications systems. This will be more secure, with encrypted communications so they are not intercepted by poaching syndicates.

“The new digital communication system will also cover the dead zone in the reserves, the areas where they struggle to communicate on two-way radios,” Greeff-Villet said.

She said while the Kruger National Park is the main area targeted by rhino poachers, it would be more difficult to implement the tracking system in an area as big as Kruger.

“There are several smaller parks throughout KwaZulu-Natal so it is more manageable to fit rhino with sensors.”

Warner Myburgh, head of Peace Parks’ rhino protection programme, said developing new technological solutions to stay one step ahead of poaching syndicates was the main focus of their programme.

“As the region that possesses the rhino population with the farthest reaching genetic pool, the protection of rhino in KwaZulu-Natal is of critical importance if we are to ensure the viability of future rhino population growth efforts,” Myburgh said.

Ezemvelo head David Mabunda said while rangers had “shown fortitude” in fighting poaching, it had become apparent they needed to use technological advances as well to protect rhino.

l World Rhino Day was started by WWF-South Africa in 2010. In 2011 it became international and focuses on all five rhino species in Africa and Asia.

A video on some efforts in Kruger

https://player.vimeo.com/video/139260685

Still trying to believe they are really making a difference

We do not get many facts

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2015/0 ... -convicted

A magistrate in Mpumalanga has praised a Belgian Malinois dog that successfully tracked two poachers, resulting in their conviction.
Andolino Mulcube, 20, and Jermano Tive, 20, appeared in the Nelspruit Regional Court on Tuesday. They were convicted of killing a white rhino in the Kruger National Park on January 19, 2013.
The two accused were arrested after a South African National Parks ranger and his dog successfully tracked them. They had found a dead rhino with its horn hacked off in the N'wanetsi area in Kruger National Park.
Although no horns were found in their possession, the men were linked through circumstantial evidence to two white rhino horns found about a kilometre away from their hideout.
The dog, called Killer, was originally used by Belgian authorities to track explosives.
His trainer, Henry Holsthyzen, the owner of Paramount Group, which supplies working dogs to rangers in the park, had told the court previously that Killer's mother had been bred from two well-known Belgian police dogs.
Killer was used by Belgian authorities to track specific explosives. But there was a bounty on his head and people wanted him killed.
Killer was put into an exchange programme and was brought to South Africa for his own protection.
Holsthyzen had told the court that Killer was introduced to Kruger at an early age.
He had bonded with a tracker, who cannot be named for protection purposes.
Blood, carcass and spoor
Passing judgment magistrate Edward Hall said evidence was that on the day of the incident rangers had heard gunshots. Killer and two trackers followed the sounds.
On the way they found blood, a rhino carcass and spoor.
Killer’s handler had testified that the horns seized were freshly cut. This was evident because they still had blood on them. They were from a white rhino.
Hall said Killer and his handler followed the spoor. Killer found the first suspect hiding in shrubs, a kilometre from the carcass.
He said three human spoors were identified, but Killer and his handler managed to catch only two men.
The suspects had told rangers that their accomplice had run away and taken the firearm with him.
State prosecutor Isabet Erwee had asked the court to consider what the law states about trackers.
“Trackers and dogs are recognised in courts in the manner they are trained and perform. The court can accept their version,” Hall said.
The case was postponed to Friday for sentencing.

These court cases takes a long time

United Kingdom and Australia have teamed up to train scientists in Vietnam
The scientists were given unprecedented access to rhino-horn seizures in the country by authorities in order to facilitate DNA testing.



MBOMBELA – Heading for one of the worst years on record for rhino poaching, with 749 animals already slaughtered in South Africa alone for their horns, a team of wildlife forensic scientists from the United Kingdom and Australia have teamed up to train scientists in Vietnam in rapid rhino-horn identification.

The scientists were given unprecedented access to rhino-horn seizures in the country by authorities in order to facilitate DNA testing. The training, funded by the UK Government, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) and the Australian Museum, was particularly vital as the number of poached rhinos was now coming perilously close to outnumbering the birth rate of rhinos in the wild, a position that may ultimately lead to the decline and possible loss of these enigmatic species.

Dr Ross McEwing of RZSS and TRACE Wildlife Forensics Network, and Dr Greta Frankham and Kyle Ewart, from the Australian Museum Research Institute’s Australian Centre Wildlife Genomics, spent a week in the wildlife genetics laboratory of the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources in Hanoi. The rapid identification techniques taught, allows seized rhino horn to be speedily tested in only 24 hours to confirm if it is real or fake and also determine the species of rhino being illegally traded.

McEwing explained, “One of the fundamental issues in Vietnam, a country synonymous with the illegal trade in rhino horn, is the requirement to identify true rhino horn from fake material in order to progress any criminal investigation, a process that can take many weeks due to limited capacity and which results in a very low rate of conviction.

“The new rapid DNA-testing technique, developed by the Australian Centre Wildlife Genomics, allows this process to be undertaken quickly and inexpensively in under 24 hours. By ensuring that Vietnam authorities have the capacity to carry out this new test, it will help enforcement officers monitor and prosecute those responsible for trading rhino horn.”

Ewart added, “Three species of rhino are routinely traded in Vietnam – white, black and Indian rhinos – and identifying the species forms part of the investigation, helping enforcement agencies direct resources to target individuals and trade routes.”

Dr Rebecca Johnson, director of the Australian Museum Research Institute and Australian Centre for Wildlife Genomics, said, “We’re at a tipping point for rhino with the number of poached individuals coming precariously close to outnumbering the birth rate, a position that will ultimately lead to the decline and possible loss of these enigmatic species.”

McEwing, who coordinated the training, said, “Deploying this new technique in Vietnam was only possible thanks to support from both the Australian Department of Environment and Vietnam CITES Management Authority. It shows just what can be achieved when organisations from different countries work collaboratively to tackle the international illegal wildlife trade. This international capacity-building project showcases the valuable scientific expertise and collection resources available at institutions like RZSS and the Australian Museum and legitimises our investments in the wildlife forensics field.”


http://lowvelder.co.za/300733/united-ki ... n-vietnam/

The new rapid DNA-testing technique, developed by the Australian Centre Wildlife Genomics, allows this process to be undertaken quickly and inexpensively in under 24 hours.

That's an incredible scientific progress