This story resonates with me because I've been to the MalaMala Game Reserve, the largest private Big Five game reserve in South Africa. Comprising 13,300 ha MalaMala shares a 19 km unfenced border with Kruger National Park. The game viewing was amazing with a higher game density and diversity than I ever had expected. I would love to go back for the wildlife in Africa again.

40,000 elephants and over 1,200 rhinos killed by poachers in a single year. 

At that rate both will be extinct within 10 years. In the last half-dozen years there has been an exponential increase in the killing of elephants and rhinos by poachers, Throughout Africa, over 100,000 elephants were killed between 2010 and the end of 2012 – 40,000 in 2013 alone.

Air Shepherd, a new initiative of the Lindbergh Foundation, is using sophisticated technology to protect the environment. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) or drones, are successfully stopping the poaching of elephants and rhinos in Africa. They are deployed with advanced infrared surveillance systems and supercomputer-based predictive analytic technology developed at the University of Maryland.

• This innovative combination of algorithms and aviation predicts where poaching is likely to happen with 93% accuracy, apprehending poachers before they can kill. Tested on private reserves in southern Africa for two years, in over 650 missions, no animals were killed while Air Shepherd drones were in flight.

•  SANParks (South African National Parks)  announced Thursday that these UAV solutions are an integral part of the current strategy to combat rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park, and that SANParks is in process of evaluating the program over the next year.

• There is an alarming increase in animal poaching. In the past year poachers killed nearly 40,000 elephants and over 1,200 rhinos. At this rate both will be extinct within 10 years.Throughout Africa, an estimated 100,000 elephants were killed between 2010-2013 alone.

Now, Air Shepherd, has a proven and effective solution to end poaching. Air Shepherd aims to raise $500,000 via crowdfunding to fully implement the program for one year at Kruger National Park with expansion planned over the next year to seven additional African countries. 

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