There were delays. War in Myanmar, a pandemic, issues in Africa. But the Hack the Poacher team got to work!
Back to 2020. The Restoration Club was a newly born foundation, and one of our first projects was Hack The Poacher. We were eager to help Thijs and Tim from Hack The Planet in their fight against the loss of wildlife caused by poachers and so-called human/wildlife conflicts. The reason why poachers poach is no mystery: because there are idiots who only feel like a man when they shoot a lion or because people want to stir rhino horn in their tea (hoping it will make their private parts grow). But the human/wildlife conflicts? That phenomenon is less well known
Sadly, wilderness is still disappearing at an alarming rate, not just in Africa but globally. As a result, wildlife has less and less space to roam freely. In Africa, this means that humans and elephants have literally become neighbours. And an elephant stampeding through a village, panicked because of the unfamiliar place he’s suddenly found himself in, causes problems. Sometimes with deadly consequences. Hack The Planet can prevent these consequences by setting up ingenious camera systems that alert communities in advance, informing rangers so they can intervene before any conflict occurs. And that’s not all — the same system can capture poachers on camera, ensuring that rangers are able to apprehend them before they can cause any harm to animals.
As mentioned earlier. There were delays. War in Myanmar, a pandemic, issues in Africa. But the Hack the Poacher team got to work! The project is up and running, with succes! And once again, a big hug to everyone who contributed to this.
