https://phys.org/news/2024-06-radioactive-rhino-horns-curb-poaching.html
'South African scientists on Tuesday injected radioactive material into live
rhino horns to make them easier to detect at border posts in a pioneering
project aimed at curbing poaching.
The country is home to a large majority of the world's rhinos and as such is a
hotspot for poaching driven by demand from Asia, where horns are used in
traditional medicine for their supposed therapeutic effect.
At the Limpopo rhino orphanage in the Waterberg area, in the country's
northeast, a few of the thick-skinned herbivores grazed in the low savannah.
James Larkin, director of the University of the Witwatersrand's radiation and
health physics unit who spearheaded the initiative, told AFP he had put "two
tiny little radioactive chips in the horn" as he administered the radioisotopes
on one of the large animals' horns.
The radioactive material would "render the horn useless... essentially
poisonous for human consumption" added Nithaya Chetty, professor and dean of
science at the same university.
The dusty rhino, put to sleep and crouched on the ground, did not feel any
pain, Larkin said.
The radioactive material's dose was so low it would not impact the animal's
health or the environment in any way, he said.
In February the environment ministry said that, despite government efforts to
tackle the illicit trade, 499 of the giant mammals were killed in 2023, mostly
in state-run parks. This represents an 11 percent increase over the 2022
figures.
Twenty live rhinos in total would be part of the pilot Rhisotope project
whereby they would be administered a dose "strong enough to set off detectors
that are installed globally" at international border posts originally installed
"to prevent nuclear terrorism", a pleased Larkin said, sporting a green hat and
a khaki shirt.
Border agents often have handheld radiation detectors which can detect
contraband in addition to thousands of radiation detectors installed at ports
and airports, the scientists said.'
Via Esther Schindler.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
