Tracking technology will be deployed across six game reserves in Africa.

The EarthRanger system will cover areas populated by endangered wildlife such as elephants, gorillas and chimpanzees in six national parks across Botswana, Mozambique and the Republic of Congo.

Moneyweb reports that the system collects data from various sources, including animal collars and vehicle tracking devices to prevent or react to poaching, park invasions and the degradation of habitats. The project is funded by partners that include the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Conservation International.

The EarthRanger system was developed in 2015 by the Allen Institute for AI as part of the Great Elephant Census, which measured the size of the continent’s savanna elephant population and has since been used to combat poaching and track locust swarms.

Claude Gascon, GEF manager of programmes, says the system will help ‘protected-area managers, ecologists, and wildlife biologists make more informed operational decisions for wildlife conservation’.

6 December 2022
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