Greg Carney and Sean Burnett with their GPS-based poacher spotting device. Photo by Adrian Lam.
Sean Burnett and Greg Carney are Canadian economists with a hobby that may save snow leopards in the Altai region of Russia. They’ve invented a poacher-spotting device that employs heat detectors, underground sensors and satellite GPS monitoring to catch illegal hunters. Their Remote Anti-Poaching Intelligence Device uses heat sensor technology attached to a GPS which is triggered by heat of campfires and then sends alert emails with coordinates to park rangers.
The protected park in the Altai Republic of Russia, has had a sad history of poachers shooting wild sheep and tracking snow leopards. To date the park authorities have had a difficult time catching them.
“If we find that this technology is successful there is no reason it can’t be used in anti-poaching activities all around the world,” said Altai Project director Jennifer Castner. “You have to know your landscape and your targets,” she said.
“A lot of people have a lot of ideas of what can be done [to catch poachers], it’s just a matter of finding amazing people like Greg and Sean who are willing to dedicate so much of their time,” Castner said.
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Hello….well done and congratulations on your potential effort which I sincerely hope is truly successful.
I am developing a monitoring wildlife sensor and recognition device so that wildlife in the vicinity of certain human centred activities can be protected. Let us hope both our devices are helpful for the protection and conservation of our wildlife of our planet.
Hi Nigel
please let us know more about your wildlife sensor sometime.