‘Find my Friends for rhinos': How high-tech tracking is keeping tabs on wildlife

It’s early morning in Sera Community Conservancy in Northern Kenya and sunlight beats down across this expansive semi-arid landscape. A team led by a Kenyan wildlife veterinarian is tracking white rhinos, the first of their kind found in Samburu County. The rhino population in Northern Kenya had been devastated by poaching, but the country’s black rhino population has more than doubled since 1989. Sera Conservancy established East Africa’s first community rhino sanctuary in 2015 and now has 21 black rhinos and four white rhinos. These rhinos are fitted with GPS tags that allow their movements to be monitored in real-time. A conservation technology tool, EarthRanger, is used to track the rhinos, ensuring their safety and well-being. The system integrates data from various devices and provides operators and managers with real-time information. It has been successful in curbing elephant poaching and aiding in translocations and data collection for wildlife protection. The use of such technology is seen as crucial in conservation efforts in Kenya.