Antipoaching hi-tech: new centre steps up rhino protection
Screened behind security fences and a curtain of Zululand thorn bush, a cluster of new buildings and high-tech surveillance equipment has sprung up at SA’s most famous rhino sanctuary. Officially, it is called the Nerve Centre. But there is a smaller signboard outside one of the prefabricated buildings with another name: The Midden. A midden is a heap of dung where rhinos defecate, with dominant males stomping, snorting and flinging the dung around with their feet to mark their territory boundaries. "This is where all the cr*p happens when it comes to antipoaching operations, so we figured The Midden was as good a name as any," says a staff member. Established with funding from the Peace Parks Foundation, the US State Department and other donors, the centre is the new tactical joint operations centre for antipoaching operations in KwaZulu-Natal. For security reasons, a small group of journalists visiting the centre in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park recently was cautioned that photographing ...
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