Some of the rhinos at Addo Elephant National Park are now collared with Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to secure their safety. This is a first-of-its-kind intervention at the Park.
Smart algorithms continuously monitor the rhino’s behaviour and in the event of an incident, an alert is generated that pinpoints the rhino’s location via GPS. This enables the effective, real-time investigation of possible poaching incidents. Behaviours that can be tracked include fighting, mating, giving birth and death.
To date, the Park has had 31 collars donated by various stakeholders, without whose continued support of Addo’s conservation programmes, it would not be possible to conserve this threatened species. 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.
Addo Elephant National Park is located about 30km outside Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape. It is home to the Big Five on its nearly 180,000-hectare terrestrial component and is a success story in growing its rhino population and expanding its range throughout this area.
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