Poaching Detection Technologies—A Survey

Abstract

Between 1960 and 1990, 95% of the black rhino population in the world was killed. In South Africa, a rhino was killed every 8 h for its horn throughout 2016. Wild animals, rhinos and elephants, in particular, are facing an ever increasing poaching crisis. In this paper, we review poaching detection technologies that aim to save endangered species from extinction. We present requirements for effective poacher detection and identify research challenges through the survey. We describe poaching detection technologies in four domains: perimeter based, ground based, aerial based, and animal tagging based technologies. Moreover, we discuss the different types of sensor technologies that are used in intruder detection systems such as: radar, magnetic, acoustic, optic, infrared and thermal, radio frequency, motion, seismic, chemical, and animal sentinels. The ultimate long-term solution for the poaching crisis is to remove the drivers of demand by educating people in demanding countries and raising awareness of the poaching crisis. Until prevention of poaching takes effect, there will be a continuous urgent need for new (combined) approaches that take up the research challenges and provide better protection against poaching in wildlife areas.

Experimental assessment of the viability of using ground penetrating radar for metal wire-snare detection

“…However, we could not identify any previous study reporting the technical performance of radar systems specifically for this application. Neither could we find any in Kamminga et al (2018)'s survey of poaching detection technology.…”

“…To assist rangers and park managers in the detection and prevention of poaching activities, novel techniques and technologies are beginning to be explored (Fang et al 2015;Hill et al 2014;Kamminga et al 2018). Amongst them, an idea is to use a radar system to detect airplanes, helicopters or unmanned aerial systems (UAS's) used by poachers (Ritchie et al 2017).…”

On the Effectiveness of UAS for Anti-Poaching in the African Arid Savanna

“…They are illegally hunted for their horns and tusks, and sold for the production of traditional medicines and for items of cultural status. From 1990 to the present, the African elephant population decreased by 90% and between 1960 and 1990 the black rhino population decreased by 95% (Kamminga, 2018). To combat the decline of high-value African species, effective anti-poaching policies require strong support by local communities, strong anti-poaching efforts by law enforcement, and strong prosecution by legal systems.…”

Hiding in the deep : online animal activity recognition using motion sensors and machine learning

“…Therefore, the subjects must be in the range of the camera to observe the activities. Although cameras are non-obtrusive to the animals, they are not scalable to larger pastures of livestock or the vast home ranges of wild animals due to their high price and required infrastructure [73]. This is true for any sensor modality that is not attached to the animal, e.g., a radar system.…”

“…Nevertheless, using sound is challenging because different acoustic characteristics are found in various environments and subjects. Moreover, a vast vocal repertoire exists in the world, which increases the classification difficulty [73]. Table 2.1 shows that most related work in AAR has utilized wearable IMUs, particularly accelerometers.…”