General Facts
Using Drones and AI to Identify Poachers on the Ground Sub-Saharan Africa is in the midst of a long-standing poaching crisis that threatens the existence of key wildlife species. Every 9 hours, a rhino is killed for its horn, and every 14 minutes an elephant slaughtered for its ivory tusks by poachers. Wildlife stakeholders across Africa are spending millions of dollars a year on wildlife conservation efforts, but the continent continues to lose the battle to save its most at-risk species from poachers. Today’s traditional conservation efforts can often be costly and inefficient. For example, stakeholders fly rented helicopters or other light aircraft, drive Land Rovers and set up base camps with 15 to 20 rangers to patrol their parks on foot in order to protect their game – this is dangerous work for the rangers involved.
Wildlife Crime Technology Wildlife trafficking is considered the fourth-largest category of illegal trade, after arms, drugs, and human trafficking.
