Tiny trackers connect endangered rhinos to the internet of things to fight poaching

Record ID: 1369808

  • Title: Tiny trackers connect endangered rhinos to the internet of things to fight poaching
  • Date: 27th December 2018
  • Summary: OL PEJETA CONSERVANCY, NANYUKI, KENYA (FILE - APRIL 5, 2017) (REUTERS) LAST REMAINING MALE NORTHERN WHITE RHINO, "SUDAN", WHO HAS NOW DIED, INSIDE PEN SUDAN WITH ONE OF LAST REMAINING FEMALE NORTHERN WHITE RHINO SUDAN EATING GRASS
  • Embargoed: 10th January 2019 11:22
  • Keywords: Gombe technology conservation Jane Goodall sensors trackers rhinoceros Zimbabwe chimpanzees Sigfox captors
  • Location: PARIS, FRANCE/ UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, ZIMBABWE/ GOMBE NATIONAL PARK, TANZANIA/ OL PEJETA CONSERVANCY, NANYUKI, KENYA
  • City: PARIS, FRANCE/ UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, ZIMBABWE/ GOMBE NATIONAL PARK, TANZANIA/ OL PEJETA CONSERVANCY, NANYUKI, KENYA
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Environment,Nature/Wildlife
  • Reuters ID: LVA00A9CPZ2HN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Miniature tracking devices connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) are helping protect some of the world's most endangered animals against poaching.
    The tiny tracker, developed by French tech company Sigfox, is inserted into rhino horns to help conservationists monitor their movement.
    With the dramatic decline of animal species in the past century mostly due to poaching and urban expansion, wildlife organisations have turned to technology to help protect creatures that have been pushed close to extinction.
    Persistent poaching had seen the global number of rhinos dwindle to around 20,000 ten years ago, but thanks to conservation efforts, the numbers have increased to over 29,000, according to conservationists.
    Different technologies including cameras, infrared and motion sensors, neck collars and drones have been used over the years but have sometimes been constrained by the vast terrain to cover, limited battery life and high costs.
    A radio collar, for instance, used to monitor tigers in India, costs 5,000 US dollars, only works in very high frequency and has a battery lifespan of one year. A collar tracker used on elephants can weigh up to 15 kilograms (33 lb.).
    Working with conservationists and specialised organisations including the International Rhino Foundation, transmitters developed by Sigfox are able to give the exact location of 30 rhinoceroses spread across a 5,000 square-kilometre reserve in Zimbabwe, over a longer period of time.
    The Sigfox network uses a specific low-frequency radio signal which offers more security guarantees than other collar tracking devices used until now.
    By sending three GPS signals a day, it can locate the rhinoceros and can alert park rangers when rhinos approach an area identified as particularly dangerous due to previous instances of poaching. And combined with other warning sensors that can measure changes in temperature or movement of objects, they can be used to mobilise rescue teams in real time.
    The specifications of the device will be shared on an open-source platform to encourage mass production of the device which has a battery life of up to three years and costs an estimated 30 dollars each.
    The IoT is seeing ever increasing numbers of everyday devices connected to the internet, including alarms, smoke detectors, mail boxes and even dog collars.
    Sigfox is also teaming up with the foundation of British primatologist Jane Goodall to use the IoT to monitor a 21,000-square-kilometre chimpanzee habitat in Tanzania.
    In the Gombe National Park and several other projects around Africa, the Jane Goodall Institute has introduced mobile applications and tablets to village monitors who record data in their surroundings, such as tree cuts, or sightings of chimpanzees’ nests or animal traps.
    Director of the Sigfox Foundation Marion Moreau said they can help improve internet connectivity across the villages and the reserve and facilitate better sharing of information.
    She added that they are also open, to developing trackers suitable for chimpanzees, as they embark on the five-year project with Goodall.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register