Military technology used to catch poachers in Congo
mongabay.com
December 6, 2006
Conservationists are using military technology to catch poachers in the act, according to an article published in the December 9, 2006 issue of New Scientist.
The article says wildlife managers are using small seismic detectors developed by New York City-based Wildland Security, a firm that builds sensors for detecting wildlife crime. The sensors are equipped with magnetometers that can detect iron in guns at several meters' distance and, upon detection, can send signals to forest rangers over a satellite phone link.
"It's based on military technology used to detect enemy troop movements," New Scientist quoted Steve Gulick, founder of Wildland Security, as saying. "You can tell the number of people in the party and the direction they are walking, so you can come prepared, before the killing starts,"
The sensors are being used in the Mouadje Bai rainforest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where elephant poaching is a particular problem.
The full article is available to New Scientist subscribers at www.newscientist.com.
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