Radioactive Horns to Save Rhinos From Poachers in South Africa

Around 20 rhinos have got their horns injected with radioactive materials in South Africa as part of a research project to curb their poaching.

The plan is that the radiation detectors placed at the borders would detect the radioactive horns and help in arrest of poachers and traffickers.

This project involved veterinarians and nuclear experts. The rhinos were tranquillised before a hole was drilled into their horns and the nuclear material was carefully inserted.

The researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand ‘s Radiation and Health Physics Unit in South Africa have injected 20 live rhinos with these isotopes. They feel this process can be used to save other wild species vulnerable to poaching like elephants and pangolins.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the global rhino population stood at around 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th century. It now stands at around 27,000 due to their poaching for horns that are in demand on the black market.

South Africa has 16,000 rhinos, the largest population of rhinos in the world. Over 500 rhinos are killed in South Africa every year.