How Can Technology Help Stop Rhino Poachers?

A database of rhinoceros DNA is helping catch violent poachers looking to sell rhino horns on the black market. Learn how in this episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hey there,
brain stuff Lauren vogelbamb Here. In seventeen, a South African
court sentenced a traditional medicine healer to twenty eight years
in prison for rhinoceros poaching. The man was convicted on
forensic evidence from the Rhino DNA Indexing System or RHODUS,
the DNA matching database that is successfully being used to

(00:25):
connect horns, blood, and animal carcasses from specific crime scenes
to the poachers responsible for rhinoceros killings and mutilations. According
to a twenty eighteen article in the journal Current Biology,
evidence from five thousand, eight hundred crime scenes has been
submitted to RHOTUS since its inception. To date, the system
has matched rhino DNA to more than a hundred and

(00:45):
twenty criminal cases, nine of which have been successfully prosecuted.
The hope is that the same genetic fingerprinting methods used
to convict perpetrators of violent human on human crime will
result in more poaching convictions, acting at once as a
deterrent and a form of wildlife of preservation. In spite
of rigid trade bands and strict enforcement, poaching of endangered

(01:06):
white and black rhinoceroses in South Africa has increased exponentially,
from just thirteen incidents in two thousand and seven to
more than one thousand, two hundred. Wildlife trafficking is one
of the biggest illegal black markets in the world, with
the keratin rich rhino horn fetching upward of sixty thousand
dollars per pound, making it more expensive than gold, diamonds

(01:26):
or cocaine. In Vietnam and China, the traffic horn is
sometimes thought to be a cure for cancer and impotence,
and in some parts of Asia it's considered an aphrodisiac
and a magical cure. All talisman's and curios made from
the horn can be seen as status symbols and signs
of wealth, and poaching is not limited to the national
parks and wilds of African India. The astronomical black market

(01:48):
price of rhino horn recently lord criminals to a zoo
near Paris, France, where they broke in late at night,
shot a rhino named Vince in the head and removed
his horn with a chainsaw. This horrific act prompted a
odd discussion about the future security of endangered animals in
captivity trafficking is the backbone of the illegal rhino horn
trade that makes poaching profitable. Through cooperation with police, arrangers

(02:11):
and wildlife investigators, researchers on the Rhodas Team hope to
use crime scene DNA to thwart crime syndicates that chip
rhino contraband to foreign countries. Thus far, the Rhodus database
has helped to convict poachers and traffickers in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya,
and Swaziland. Today's episode is written by Carrie Tato and

(02:34):
produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots
of other depressing yet slightly hopeful topics, visit our home planet,
pastaff works dot com.