Horns of rhinos implanted with radioactive chips as new measure, but against what?

Researchers are currently working on a method to implant radioactive isotopes into horns of the rhinos in South Africa, who have a risk of getting poached by some dangerous crime rings operating there. According to reports, the isotopes being embedded will pose no harm for the animals but make them incredibly poisonous for human consumption.

Rare African rhinos being hunted in South Africa, researchers developing methods to curb it

Since lots of African rhinoceros are poached in South Africa for their meat, researchers have devised a new way to stop these rare species from getting endangered and also stop poaching activities to an extent in South Africa. The country is notoriously known across the world for its enormous share of poachers who create havoc across the entire African continent which is majorly unexplored and filled with immense natural resources.

Researchers embedding nuclear isotopes in rhino horns to make them fatal for human consumption

One such natural heritage is the African rhino, which is now being incorporated with nuclear elements in order to keep them safe from human consumption. According to an AFP report, the isotopes are strong enough to trigger and set off detectors when it comes in their proximity, alerting authorities, in the case they are being poached. In such case, the authorities will then begin search and rescue operations for these rhinos.


Rhinoceros horns are incredibly in demand across Asia due to their supposed therapeutic advantages, but there are no scientific evidence around this claim. However, all benefits from the rhinos sum up to the fact that more than 499 rhinos have been killed in the year 2023, marking an 11% increase in their deaths from 2022.

FAQs:

Are African rhinos consumable?
African rhinos are in great demand in parts of Asia and Africa and are consumed by many. Although, poaching these rare animals is illegal but the number of deaths due to poachers keep rising every year.

What are the health benefits of African rhinos?
There are a lot of health benefits of African rhinos, one of them being in traditional medicines across Asia, although there are no scientific evidence to back these claims.