South Africa is trying something new — injecting radioactive materials into rhinos' horns to prevent poaching.The University of the Witwatersrand, along with nuclear energy officials and conservationists, launched the anti-poaching campaign in which they inject radioactive isotopes into the horns — helping customs agents detect them. They are even detectable in full 40 ft shipping containers. As part of initial trials, 20 rhinos at a sanctuary were injected with low levels of the isotopes, finding even at low levels, they are detectable. Researchers hope this will save the rhino population, as there is an estimated 500 rhinos are killed each year, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. .They also say at the beginning of the 20th century there was a global population of approximately 500,000 rhinos, but it has now declined to an estimated 27,000. The University of the Witwatersrand's website states, "Six months ago, low levels of radioactive material were embedded into the horns of 20 rhinos living in the UNESCO Waterberg Biosphere.""Experimental results on the blood tests of the animals, as well as veterinary inspections have confirmed that the rhinos are unharmed by the radioisotope levels used. The project is led by researchers from the Wits University in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)."Private and public rhino owners and conservation authorities have been advised to have rhinos injected.
