To render rhino horns useless to poachers, researchers have been working on rhino horns implanted with radioactive isotopes.
Such efforts could make the horn poisonous for humans to consume.
Rhino Horn Anti-Poaching
South Africa houses most of the world's rhinos. Hence, the country has become a poaching hotspot driven by the demand in Asia. On the continent, rhino horns have been used for traditional medicine due to their alleged therapeutic properties.
These horns are prized items in black markets. In fact, their weight price could be compared to that of cocaine or gold.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, poaching of rhinos surged in Africa. This is due to how funding shortages led to security shortages in areas that are conserved.
Though horns still grow back, poachers tend to kill rhinos to cut their horns off. Because of this, various efforts have been launched to thwart poaching.
So far, previous anti-poaching efforts, such as poisoning or painting horns, have failed. In fact, conservationists have also opted for intentional rhino dehorning since the 1980s just to protect the animals against poaching.
Vanessa Duthé, a black rhino conservation specialist and a PhD candidate from the University of Neuchâtel said that using a chainsaw for cutting has garnered much criticism, despite being a fast way to move on with dehorning.
However, these efforts were unable to ward off poachers.
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Scientists Implant Radioactive Isotopes on Rhino Horns
Now, this novel anti-poaching "Rhisotope project" has garnered optimistic views.
According to James Larkin, a professor and science dean at the University of Witwatersrand, such radioactive isotopes would have sufficient strength to set off globally installed detectors. He was mainly referring to hardware that was added to ensure that nuclear terrorism does not happen.
The Larkin team plans to have the radioactive isotopes implanted across twenty rhinos. He also expresses that the method could be used to end poaching.
As for risks, the duo of small radioactive chips implanted in the rhino horns would also not pose any danger to the animals' environment or health.
Larkin also noted that the implantation did not cause pain to the rhino. Moreover, due to the low dosage of the radioactive material, it would not affect the animal's health or environment.
As part of the implantation process, Larkin drilled a small hole into the horn meticulously. He then hammered radioisotopes to the horn and further finished things by releasing 11,000 microdots around the horn.
According to Jessica Babich, the COO of the project, the last phase would focus on the aftercare of the animal, following proper ethical and scientific protocol. The team would carry out blood samples to make sure that the animals were protected effectively.
The implanted material may also last for half a decade on the horn. This would also be cheaper compared to having the animals dehorned every 18 months.
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