Last year, about 20 rhinos were injected at a reserve in a first attempt that paved the way for the project. According to the researchers, the tests carried out in the pilot study are said to have shown that the material is not harmful to the rhinos.
However, it can also be detected in low concentrations by radiation detectors at airports and border controls, which means that poachers and smugglers can be caught by customs. The tests showed, among other things, that horns could be detected inside fully loaded containers with a length of twelve meters.
Researchers at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa now hope that the method will have a greater impact in the country and have urged zoo owners and national wildlife authorities to have their animals injected.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the rhino population in the world was estimated to be around 500,000 animals at the beginning of the 20th century, but the number has now decreased to around 27,000 due to the continued demand for the animals' horns on the black market.
South Africa has the largest rhino population with an estimated 16,000 animals, but poaching is widespread and around 500 rhinos are killed for their horns every year.
