Rhinoceros- Ngulia

    Rhinos are hunted and killed in pursuit of the coveted horns. According to some cultures, the horns are believed to be able to cure diseases, but they are also used as trophies. Strong and immediate action is needed to save the rhinos, and new technology is part of the solution.

    The Kolmården Foundation co-finances Project Ngulia, where Kolmården Zoo is the tester for new technical solutions that help save rhinos in Kenya. The rhinoceros is critically endangered, and the Kolmården Foundation has supported the project since 2017.

    The rhino's horn consists of keratin, the same substance as, among other things nails and hair. It also means that if the horns are cut, they grow back. According to some cultures, the horns are believed to be able to cure diseases such as cancer, which means that the illegal hunting of rhinos is very extensive.

    When the project started, there were 64 spotted rhinos in Ngulia – today there are around 140.

    Park rangers protect rhinos in the Ngulia Reserve

    In the Ngulia Reserve in Tsavo West National Park in Kenya, park rangers work to monitor and protect the approximately 140 white rhinos that live there. Since the horns are worth more than gold on the black market, defending the animals against illegal hunting is a risky mission.

    There is therefore a strong need for better and safer methods to facilitate the park rangers in their work.

    Project Ngulia protects the rhinos with the help of smartphones

    Several actors collaborate in Project Ngulia – including Kenya Wildlife Service, Linköping University and Kolmårdens Zoo - to make sure to provide the park rangers with new, technical solutions that facilitate this the daily work of protecting the rhinos. Researchers at Linköpings university develops modern, cost-effective technical equipment that is tested at Kolmården together with the park's rhinos. The technology includes, among other things, smartphone apps for efficient reporting and secure communication systems for observations of human footprints, damage to fences, weapons and the like. Different types of sensor systems are also hoped to give the park rangers "super eyes" and "super ears", to quickly detect trespassers in the reserve. To facilitate monitoring, energy-efficient bluetooth transmitters are also being tested in the horns of the rhinos - and a dashboard has also been developed where you can see reports and positions of park rangers and animals in real time.

    What has been done at Kolmården?

    At Kolmården, many technical solutions have been tested to then be able to used outside in nature. Among other things, the following equipment has been tested in the zoo:

    • GPS transmitters and foot links
    • Thermal camera
    • Radar
    • Microphone system in combination with cameras
    • Drone
    • Intelligent cameras which via AI should be able to identify different species.
    • Bluetooth tag with pedometer and scanner