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Rhinos get radioactive horns, will trigger nuclear alarms if poached | Witwatersrand University’s initiative could extend to protecting elephants, pangolins, and other endangered species.
Scientists inject live rhino horns with non-toxic radioactive isotopes to make them poisonous to humans and easier to detect at borders.
Many major airports and harbors, including those in South Africa, already have equipment to detect radioactive materials, originally meant to prevent nuclear threats. “Each insertion was closely monitored by expert veterinarians and extreme care was taken to prevent any harm to the animals,” stated Professor James Larkin, the project’s lead. Earlier this month, authorities in Indonesia arrested six suspects involved in a poaching network accused of using homemade firearms to kill over two dozen critically endangered Javan rhinos since 2018.
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