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South Africa implants isotope capsules in 20 rhinoceroses to protect them from poachers

According to calculations, the dose of radioactive material is so small that it will have no negative impact on the animal's health or the environment, James Larkin said

PRETORIA, June 26. /TASS/. South African specialists this week implanted 20 rhinoceroses with capsules containing radioactive isotopes developed by Rosatom as part of the latest technology to combat poachers, the head of the project, Professor James Larkin, said.

According to him, this is a pilot project. Over the next six months, the South African team will monitor the health and behavior of the rhinoceroses to verify the effectiveness of the new technology in combating illegal poaching. The capsules have been inserted into the animals' horns, allowing them to be detected by monitoring equipment, including at airports in the event of a smuggling attempt.

Each rhinoceros receives two capsules. According to calculations, the dose of radioactive material is so small that it will have no negative impact on the animal's health or the environment, Larkin said. He pointed out that each capsule will only work for five years, after which it will need to be replaced.

"The presence of radioactive material renders the horn useless and even toxic for human consumption," Dean of the University of the Witwatersrand’s Science Department Nithaya Chetty said. According to him, this technology is much cheaper than removing the horn, a practice widely used in South Africa to protect the wild animals from poachers.

The project was initiated by the University of the Witwatersrand. For decades it has been developing technologies to protect rare animals, including the rhinoceros, from poachers. It began working on this very project in 2021 with Russian specialists and with the support of Rosatom.

Last year, poachers killed 499 rhinoceroses in South Africa. According to the authorities, the country is now home to 93% of all rhinoceroses in Africa, as well as 39% of the 5,000 black rhinoceroses, which are on the brink of extinction. Illegal poaching of the wild animal's horn is in demand in Asian countries, as healers say that rhinoceros horns have healing properties denied by modern science. Now a kilogram of rhinoceros horn costs more than $60,000 on the black market.

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