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Kick in the teeth for rhino poachers at top South African game reserve
The Sabi Sand Nature Reserve in Greater Kruger experienced zero rhino poaching incidents in more than 500 days.
The prestigious private reserve attributed the feat to several measures, including cutting-edge technologies like surveillance drones, real-time tracking, and AI-powered tools.
Among the entities the reserve thanked for the technological solution to help combat poaching is the Connected Conservation Foundation (CCF).
The CCF is working with 19 reserves across Africa and South America to test and improve tech solutions for conservation.
Aside from Sabi Sand, its field partners include Madikwe, African Parks, Loisaba Conservancy, and Lapalala Wilderness.
Its founding partners include US network equipment giant Cisco and South African data centre operator Dimension Data.
Among the many challenges in combatting crime in game reserves is coordinating preventative and responsive measures without communications infrastructure.
Sabi Sand covers more than 62,000 hectares and shares a 50km non-fenced boundary with the Kruger National on its eastern side and a 72km perimeter fence with nearby human settlements on its western side.
CCF’s deployment in Sabi Sand was its first and started in 2015, with a focus on protecting black and white rhino, elephant, lion, cheetah, giraffe, and wild dog populations.
Before the deployment, the reserve was losing at least one rhino per week.
“Response times were over 30 minutes, and by that time, the poachers had killed the animal and had taken the horns,” CCF explained.
“Rangers on the ground were doing their best, but the constant rate of poaching diluted their resources and prevented them from stopping illegal people from entering the reserve and causing harm.”
After 18 months in operation, poaching incidents in Sabi Sand had reduced by 96%. The technology had reduced incident response times from anywhere in the reserve to seven minutes.
At the core of CCF’s solutions is a Reserve Area Network that supports communications and network connectivity across vast remote areas.
“The network allows for alerts, conservation intelligence and live video to be shared from strategic locations to a central operation centre,” CCF explained.
The infographic below shows the basic layout of some of the key elements in CCF’s Reserve Area Network.
Map data credit: Google Earth
The Sabi Sand solution was designed and operated as a managed on-site service, lining up with the cloud for data analytics and backup.
The communications network initially consisted of a point-to-multi-point radio network, while IT infrastructure at gates were improved for higher bandwidth and faster Wi-Fi.
All entry points are fitted with biometrics and CCTV cameras, as well as passport, ID, and licence plate scanners, connected to a reserve database.
Other advanced solutions deployed include thermal cameras deployed at fence lines and long-range wide-area network (LoRaWAN) sensors that use unlicensed spectrum to track people, rangers, visitors, vehicles, natural resources, and wildlife.
The CCF said that its technology gives rangers around-the-clock visibility across a reserve.
“It provides an early warning of conservation issues so rangers can respond to stop poaching and human-wildlife conflict before it can occur,” the foundation said.
“By enabling real-time data collection and analysis, we also help to improve protected area management effectiveness, increase the speed of decision-making and response, to keep rangers safe and leave wildlife undisturbed.”
The video below provides more details on the CCF’s pilot project in Sabi Sand.
Dedicated rangers and supportive communities
In addition to the tech-based measures, Sabi Sand also credited its dedicated anti-poaching teams and the invaluable support of local communities for the milestone.
These included education, sustainable initiatives, and a shared commitment to protecting wildlife.
“We honour the incredible efforts of everyone involved in protecting rhinos, from rangers on the ground to the local communities and global partners who stand with us,” the reserve said.
“This milestone highlights what’s possible when innovation meets determination. However, the journey continues — conservation requires vigilance, unity, and ongoing support.”
source:Kick in the teeth for rhino poachers at top South African game reserve – MyBroadband
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