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Saving the Rhino

enChoice sponsors the use of advanced technology, data, and analytics to protect the rhino and other animals from poaching threats.

enChoice has partnered with Welgevonden Game Reserve in South Africa, to provide project management and technical support for a technology-based rhino conservation program.

Saving the Rhino began with a SPARK

You might be thinking, “But enChoice is a technology company, what do you have to do with saving rhinos?” Our interest in saving the rhino from poachers began with a “SPARK.”

A few years ago, enChoice sponsored a Proof of Concept (PoC) called Sentinel Protection Against Rhino Killing, (SPARK) at the Welgevonden Game Reserve in South Africa.

This project used advanced technology including the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and animal behavioral research, to protect threatened species, particularly the rhino, from devastating poaching threats.

The SPARK program shined a light on the value of technology, data, and analytics for saving the rhino and other endangered species from extinction.

Today, enChoice is working with Welgevonden to broaden our vision of what is possible in animal conservation using advanced technology.

In the ground-breaking SPARK, a variety of ungulate (or hooved) species are fitted with specially designed sensors to record their movement and analyze their reactions to environmental events.

As the data is collected, rule-based patterns or algorithms are used to predict when the prey-animals respond to various perceived human threats. If suspicious activity is detected, action can be taken immediately to locate and protect the threatened animal.

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How Technology is Saving Rhinos

By applying AI-based technology, digital tracking devices, and smart technology, the team at Welgevonden Game Reserve collects data daily to assist in alerting security of a crime before it happens.

A vast amount of information is collected daily from a variety of sources around the reserve. This data is put into a central content repository at the Joint Operation Center (or JOC) where analysts track and identify activity that may indicate a potential risk or breach.

As live data is captured and analyzed, the security team is sent an alert through the network if a probable poaching-related activity is identified. The team is then able to react quicky to coordinate an incident response.

enChoice sponsors this technology program with an on-site Chief Information Technology Officer who is responsible for overseeing the development and maintenance of the hardware and software necessary to support this important initiative.

The Proof of Concept has been successfully completed for SPARK, leading to the conclusion that by using this technology rhino poaching success rates can drop from around 90% to single digits.

As a result the great success of this program and the widespread interest in the topic of rhino protection, Tony White was able to procure a private meeting to brief Jane Goodall on SPARK. Jane and Tony were photographed together after their meeting (see photo).

“It was an honor to meet Jane and to have the opportunity to talk with her about our successes using technology in SPARK,” said Tony White. “Jane showed great interest in the program, and we are currently providing her with more details.”

Spreading the Word About Rhino Protection: Meeting Jane Goodall

enChoice’s Chairman, Tony White attended the annual Fall expo of the Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) on October 12th, 2019.

The WCN is the leading organization in the US that raises funds to protect endangered species. Dr. Jane Goodall was keynote speaker at the Expo, and her session was sold out with a 2,400 person attendance. Goodall is one of the world’s most celebrated scientists and supporters of wildlife conservation, and is most noted for her work with chimpanzees. She is also the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute.

enChoice is a sponsor of SPARK, a unique and groundbreaking program aimed at using advanced technology including the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and animal behavioral research to protect threatened species, in particular the Rhino, from devastating poaching threats. The initial implementation of the project is at Welgevonden Game Reserve in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.

Meet Ray Dearlove, enChoice's Adviser on Endangered Species

For the past decade, Ray Dearlove has worked tirelessly for the preservation of the rhinoceros.

All five remaining rhino species are under severe threat and on the verge of extinction in their wild habitat due to excessive poaching, driven by a burgeoning market for the consumption of rhinoceros horn in China and South-east Asia.

Ray is South African born and educated and he emigrated with his family to Australia in 1987. Most of Ray’s career has been in executive positions in the IT industry, specifically with IBM, EMC and Network Appliance. Ray was able to match his love of sport with his career by being General Manager of the highly successful Sydney University Football Club for ten years and also had a stint with Rugby World Cup winning coach, Jake White, at the Brumbies. He has run his own high-profile Events Management Company for many years, organising successful and profitable events for organisations such as The Australian Rugby Union, Sydney University, the Brumbies, the South Sydney Rabbitohs Rugby League Club and also with not-for-profits such as Lifestart and the Black Dog Institute which works to address depression.

In May 2013, Ray founded The Australian Rhino Project which is focused on establishing breeding herds of white and black rhinoceros in Australia as an insurance population for the two species which face the threat of extinction in the wild. This project gained serious global momentum - a daunting but extremely important and satisfying venture (and adventure) and while Ray is no longer directly involved, the Project is ongoing with exciting plans to import the rhinos into Australia in the not too distant future. Ray continued his desire to assist in the preservation of endangered species such as rhinos and elephants through his work with the Wildlife Conservation Network, the Communication Conservation for Africa and SPARK.

Ray has now turned his hand to writing and in 2019 published the Book of Poems for the Rhino. General Johan Jooste of SANParks was kind enough to write the foreword for the book and referred to Ray as a ''Rhino Whisperer''

All proceeds of the sales of the books have been directed to the Black Mambas, the all- female anti-poaching unit.

In 2020, Ray published a book about the Australian Rhino Project entitled The Crash of Rhinos. The title is a play on words. A ‘’crash’’ is the collective noun for rhinos, but it also describes the carnage wrought by poachers in Africa who have slaughtered more than 10,000 rhinos – three a day - in the past decade to feed the seemingly insatiable demand for rhino horn in some Asian countries. ‘’The Crash of Rhinos’’ traces the origin of the Project to the present situation with the team still working to relocate rhinos to Australia. It is an insightful, frustrating, humorous and humbling story that will make you laugh, cry and tear your hair out in exasperation. In Ray’s own words, “There was extreme joy and there was acute heartache.”

This fascinating story demonstrates what can be achieved by one person with the passion, resilience and dogged persistence to meet challenges, obstacles and the glacial pace of governments - even in the face of a crisis.

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