supplied : SANParks
Some rhinos at the Addo Elephant National Park (AENP) are now collared with Artificial Intelligence technology (AI) to secure their safety.
A spokesperson for SANParks JP Louw says this is a first-of-its-kind intervention at the park.
He says smart algorithms continuously monitor the rhino’s behaviour and in the event of an incident, an alert is generated which pinpoints the rhino’s location via GPS.
Louw says this will enable an effective real-time approach to possible poaching incidents, but also when the animals fight, mate, give birth or die.
To date, 31 collars have been donated by various stakeholders.
Sponsors include animal welfare organisations such as Stop Rhino Poaching, Animal Survival International (Brady Hunter Foundation), Dancing for Rhinos and others like Tocoforce (the developer of an eco-lodge near the Park) and Rouxcell Technology.
