ShotSpotter Combats Rhino Poaching in South Africa’s Kruger National Park

The use of guns to poach rhinos is a significant environmental concern in Africa where
the horn of a single rhino can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the vast expanse of Kruger National Park, most poaching incidents go undetected with carcasses found days or weeks after the fact.

Since the introduction of SoundThinking’s ShotSpotter gunshot detection system to detect, locate and alert park rangers to gunfire incidents in less than 60 seconds, there have been multiple poacher apprehensions within the coverage area. In 2018, ShotSpotter incrementally expanded to 100 square km inside the Intensified Protection Zone (IPZ) of Kruger National Park. IPZ is one of the world’s major hotspots for rhino poaching.

ShotSpotter was modified for use in the wilderness with sensors mounted on trees or masts and adapted to solar power. The system is helping park rangers respond with greater speed and accuracy to gunfire in Kruger National Park so they can take poaching teams out of circulation.