News: A South African university launched an anti-poaching campaign with a unique approach – injecting radioactive isotopes into rhino horns.
About Rhisotope Project
- It is a pioneering conservation initiative begun in South Africa in 2021, aiming to combat rhino poaching by injecting safe, traceable amounts of radioactive isotopes into live rhinoceros horns.
- Launched by: University of the Witwatersrand, with support of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
- Objective: The Project aims at safely inserting radioactive isotopes into rhino horns to deter poachers and stop smuggling by making the horns detectable at international borders.
- Working/Procedure
- Injection: A small hole is drilled in the horn and Radioisotope is inserted into it.
- The radioactive isotopes or radioisotopes are the unstable form of an element that emit radiation to transform into a more stable form.
- The radiation can be traced, and typically causes changes in the substance it falls upon.
- Detection: The tests conducted under the Project confirmed that individual horns could be detected inside full 40-foot shipping containers by radiation portal monitors (RPMs) already deployed at borders, ports, and airports worldwide.
- Safety: The procedure, according to the researchers, has proven to show no harm to the rhinos themselves, while making the horn “useless” and “poisonous” to humans.
- Injection: A small hole is drilled in the horn and Radioisotope is inserted into it.
Poaching Crisis
- South Africa has the largest population of rhinos with an estimated 16,000 but the country experiences high levels of poaching with about 500 rhinos killed for their horns every year.
- According to the IUCN, the global rhino population was estimated to be about 500,000 at the start of the 20th century. It has since dwindled to 27,000, owing to the burgeoning demand for rhino horns.
Other Projects to Save Rhino
- Dehorning of Rhinos: The project involves the removal of horns of Rhino’s in order to deter poaching.
- A 2024 study showed that dehorning rhinos reduced poaching by 78 per cent over seven years on eight reserves, while another study established that this measure impacted their ability to socialize with their peers and noted reductions in the sizes of their home ranges.
