Scientists in South Africa are making rhino horns radioactive to fight poaching : NPR
A rhinoceros under sedation is prepared before a hole is drilled in its horn and carefully inserted isotopes, in a rhino orphanage in Mokopane, South Africa, Thursday, July 31, 2025.
Alfonso Nqujana / AP
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Alfonso Nqujana / AP
Mokopane, South Africa (AP)-A South African University launched an anti -racication campaign on Thursday to inject the horns of rhinos with radioactive isotopes which, according to them, are harmless to animals but can be detected by customs agents.
As part of the collaborative project involving the University of Witwaters rumors, nuclear energy managers and environmentalists, five rhinos have been injected into what the university hopes will be the start of a mass injection of the drop in rhinos.
They call it the Rhisotope project.
Professor James Larkin explores a hole in a horn of rhinoceros to inject radioactive isotopes, in an orphanage of Rhinoceros in Mokopane, South Africa, Thursday, July 31, 2025.
Alfonso Nqujana / AP
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Alfonso Nqujana / AP
Last year, around twenty rhinos in a sanctuary were injected with isotopes in tests that paved the way for the launch on Thursday. Radioactive isotopes, even at low level, can be recognized by radiation detectors in airports and borders, leading to the arrest of poachers and traffickers.
Researchers from the Witwatersrand’s Radiation and Health Physics Unit claim that tests carried out in the pilot study confirmed that radioactive equipment was not harmful to rhinoceros.
“We have demonstrated, beyond any scientific doubt, that the process is completely safe for the animal and effective to make the horn detectable through international nuclear security systems,” said James Larkin, scientific director of the Rhisotope project.
“Even a single horn with radioactivity levels significantly lower than what will be used in practice has successfully triggered alarms in radiation detectors,” said Larkin.
The tests also revealed that horns could be detected in 40-foot shipping containers, he said.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature believes that the world population of rhinoceros was around 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th century, but has now decreased to around 27,000 due to the continuous demand for rhino horns on the black market.
South Africa has the largest population of rhinoceros with around 16,000 but the country experiences high poaching levels with around 500 rhinos killed for their horns each year.
The university has urged owners of private wild parks and national conservation authorities to inject their rhinos.
