The Internet of Things is putting poachers on the endangered list

Harriet Green, General Manager, Watson Internet of Things, Customer Engagement, and Education

The Internet of Things (IoT) is dramatically changing the world around us. In fact, it’s safe to say the IoT is far more pervasive and impactful than just about any of us can imagine. Just ask the team at the Welgevonden Game Reserve.

Located in the Waterberg District of the Limpopo, province of South Africa, this 37,000-hectare game reserve is filled with plentiful birdlife and stunning wildlife. But under this beauty, a battle is taking place to save one of its most spectacular residents, the rhino.

Today, South Africa is home to more than 80% of the world's rhinos — approximately 18,000 white rhinos and 2,000 black rhinos, numbers which are unfortunately dropping far too quickly. Consider that 1,054 rhinos were reported killed in 2016 in South Africa alone. If this pattern continues rhinos will become completely extinct by 2025.

It’s this daunting prospect that brought teams to IBM to see how IoT could help thwart an old threat — poachers who are killing these animals solely for their highly-prized horns.

Traditionally, this fight has been very costly, highly militarized, and, to make matter worse, very reactive because teams have not had access to the data needed to take preemptive action. Game reserve teams cannot afford to be one step behind these threats, and thanks to a new IoT-powered solution that harnesses cloud technology, embedded sensors, and predictive analytics, the days of reactionary responses are no more.

This fantastic new approach idea grew from a recent study done by Wageningen University and its Animal Sciences group. The study found that animals in the wild react in different ways depending on the type of threat they encounter and the perceived danger. The threat or danger could come from predators such as a lion or the presence of people, including a tourist or a poacher, in the vicinity.

Now this IoT solution is being put to the test at the Welgevonden Game Reserve, where animals have been fitted with collars featuring sensors. Through these collars and the power of IoT, teams can examine how the animals respond to specific scenarios including approaches from potential poachers versus tourists.

But what is extremely interesting is that the reserve team isn’t watching the rhinos, at least not directly. Protecting these beautiful animals is so vital that their location must remain secure to everyone. So rather than putting their whereabouts in jeopardy, the team has placed 135 collars on other prey animals including zebra, wildebeest, eland, and impala. As a result, these animals become the sentries or guardians of their endangered friends.

Now teams can monitor and collect information related to location, movement, direction, and the average speed of travel of these animals and use this data to create rule-based patterns built on the animal’s response to potential threat incidents from poachers.

For Welgevonden Game Reserve these patterns become the early warning system that has eluded them in the past. Just as a manufacturer uses IoT to enable predictive maintenance, where machines are repaired before they breakdown, Welgevonden will be able to determine when animals are reacting to threats from poachers so they can proactively deploy security personnel before attacks occur, protecting all the animals, including the rhinos.

What the Welgevonden Game Reserve is teaching all of us is just how truly impactful the IoT can be and how its effects can be seen and felt from just about anywhere, even on a 35,000-hectare expanse of the African bush that’s home to some of the most precious animals in the world, including the rhino.

And while we’re talking about our rhino friends, please be sure to show your support on World Rhino Day, on Friday, September 22.

Check here for more details.

This post is sponsor content from IBM and was created by IBM and BI Studios.

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