Researchers in South Africa have implanted radioactive substances into the horns of rhinos. This is intended to help curb poaching and protect the animals.
In an approach to combat rampant rhino poaching, scientists in South Africa have launched a unique project: As ABC News reports, radioisotopes have been inserted for the first time into the horns of living rhinos in order to increase their protection.
For this purpose, 20 rhinos from the Rhino Orphanage in Mokopane in the Limpopo District were selected to be part of this experiment. The radioactive substances are intended to help make the horns detectable at international border crossings using radiation detectors.
“Every 20 hours a rhino dies in South Africa because of its horn,” James Larkins, professor and project leader of the Rhisotope Project at the University of Witwatersrand, told ABC News. The black market value of rhino horns even exceeds that of gold, platinum, diamonds and cocaine. South Africa is home to the largest part of the world’s rhino population, about 80 percent of the white rhinos and 33 percent of the black rhinos.
According to Larkin, the scientists’ goal is to reduce the value of rhino horns in the eyes of buyers and at the same time make smuggling more difficult by improving traceability. After three years of development, the use of the isotopes is now the “final phase” of the research project. The safety for the animals’ health has been guaranteed by months of research and testing.
The threat of poaching, however, is not diminishing. In 2023 alone, 499 rhinos were poached in South Africa, an increase of 51 compared to the previous year. A team of experts will now monitor the health of the rhinos over the next six months to evaluate the effectiveness of the new approach.
Poaching is not the only threat to the rhino population in South Africa. A video taken in April showed a two-year-old rhino that was stuck in the mud on the bank of a river and was in danger of suffocating. Fortunately, several helpers were able to free the 750-kilogram animal from its predicament using a tractor.
The verdict against Björn Höcke was due to be handed down today in the “Everything for Germany” trial. But his lawyers are flooding the court with a flood of motions, so the proceedings are continuing. A “politically biased” witness is disinvited at the last minute – thus avoiding a scandal.
A farmer found the body of a child in a meadow in the Lower Saxony district of Stade, where the missing boy Arian was being searched for.
