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My freshman and sophomore years in college, I worked in the big cat house at a fairly prestigious zoo in the US (mostly feeding them and cleaning up their shit)

My freshman and sophomore years in college, I worked in the big cat house at a fairly prestigious zoo in the US (mostly feeding them and cleaning up their shit). But in addition to the cats we took care of, we had many programs around the world to protect animals from poachers and environmental encroachment. In almost every poaching context, the most successful experiments were always the simplest: Pay the poachers to be rangers instead. We found that the primary motivation for poachers was profit, so we approached them and essentially said "We'll pay you more if you protect the cats instead of hunting them." The 180s we observed were remarkable, and the money they made from poaching was usually so small that beating it was almost trivial for us. So while the price of drones (and program maintenance) are decreasing, I can't help but wonder how many ranger salaries could have been paid instead.

_djo_ 14y ago
That approach has been tried and although there's limited success it's not workable for rhino poaching. The huge amount of money being made by criminal syndicates means that the people doing the poaching are being paid far, far more than the state could ever afford to compete with while the extra money means the poaching operations are more sophisticated with their own helicopters and pilots, paid-off veterinarians and other high-skilled and well-paid people. Nonetheless there's a large reward incentive offered in South Africa and neighbouring countries for information leading to the arrest of a poacher or the head of a poaching syndicate, amounting to $10 000 for the former and $100 000 for the latter. It's too early to say how well it's working, but it is being supplemented by military patrols, drone and aircraft operations and sophisticated sensors and early indications are promising.
- lifeisstillgood 14y ago
  Seriously? How much does Rhino Horn go for? And, since its matted hair, and since it does not actually increase male virility when mixed with water, why do the criminial syndicates not just stop poaching and hand out ground up hair. I mean, they are criminials. Its not like they are opposed to lying. Edit: 60-80K/kilo it seems - in bitcoins.
  - _djo_ 14y ago
    Over $65 000 per kg, significantly more valuable than Gold. Fake horns do make up a lot of the consumer trade in rhino horns, with most made from water buffalo horns, but these have had the effect of increasing demand. High-end buyers get their rhino horns from syndicates that are able to guarantee the provenance of their horns and can command a higher price as a result.

_djo_ 14y ago

That approach has been tried and although there's limited success it's not workable for rhino poaching. The huge amount of money being made by criminal syndicates means that the people doing the poaching are being paid far, far more than the state could ever afford to compete with while the extra money means the poaching operations are more sophisticated with their own helicopters and pilots, paid-off veterinarians and other high-skilled and well-paid people. Nonetheless there's a large reward incentive offered in South Africa and neighbouring countries for information leading to the arrest of a poacher or the head of a poaching syndicate, amounting to $10 000 for the former and $100 000 for the latter. It's too early to say how well it's working, but it is being supplemented by military patrols, drone and aircraft operations and sophisticated sensors and early indications are promising.

lifeisstillgood 14y ago
Seriously? How much does Rhino Horn go for? And, since its matted hair, and since it does not actually increase male virility when mixed with water, why do the criminial syndicates not just stop poaching and hand out ground up hair. I mean, they are criminials. Its not like they are opposed to lying. Edit: 60-80K/kilo it seems - in bitcoins.
- _djo_ 14y ago
  Over $65 000 per kg, significantly more valuable than Gold. Fake horns do make up a lot of the consumer trade in rhino horns, with most made from water buffalo horns, but these have had the effect of increasing demand. High-end buyers get their rhino horns from syndicates that are able to guarantee the provenance of their horns and can command a higher price as a result.