Twenty rhinos on a reserve in South Africa had nuclear material implanted in their horns this week as part of a new project aimed at fighting poaching.
Scientists from Wits University, Johannesburg, injected radioisotopes, atoms that have excess nuclear energy, into the horns, which are highly sought-after for use in traditional Chinese medicine but have no medicinal qualities.
The radioactive material will not only make the horns poisonous for human consumption but make them harder to smuggle internationally, as they will set off radiation detectors widely installed at land border crossings, ports and airports around the world to prevent nuclear terrorism.
Poaching is a significant problem in South Africa, home to the biggest population of rhinoceroses in the world, with almost 500 of the animals killed last year, according to government data.
The International Rhino Foundation says that South Africa accounts for about half of the total black rhino population on the continent, more than 2,000, and and is also home to the world’s largest population of white rhinos, about 13,000. There are just over 26,000 rhinos left in the world.
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The country has tried numerous ways to protect the animals, including removing horns entirely. Now conservationists hope the radioactive rhinos will prove a deterrent where other efforts have failed.
“Every 20 hours in South Africa a rhino dies for its horn,” said James Larkin, director of Wits University’s radiation and health physics unit, who is leading the project. “These poached horns are then trafficked across the world and used for traditional medicines or as status symbols. This has led to their horns currently being the most valuable false commodity in the black-market trade, with a higher value even than gold, platinum, diamonds and cocaine.
“Ultimately, the aim is to try to devalue rhinoceros horn in the eyes of the end users, while at the same time making the horns easier to detect as they are being smuggled across borders,” he added.
The radioisotopes do not harm the rhinos, which were asleep and unaware while the material was injected into their horns on Tuesday.
Beckham, Mapimpi and Duane — named after the football legend and two Springbok rugby players — were among the 20 rhinos whose horns will be radioactive for the next six months.
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The scientists hope over time to expand their work to other endangered animals, such as elephants and pangolins.
Demand for rhino horn is biggest in China and Vietnam. The Helping Rhinos charity estimated last year that rhino horn was selling for a price of $25,000 per kilogram (£20,000), down from a peak of $65,000 (£51,000).
