‘10 steps ahead’: Kenya’s tech war on wildlife poachers

A picture taken on May 28, 2019 shows a trio of white rhinoceros grazing at Ol-Pejeta conservancy at Laikipia's county headquarters, Nanyuki. - Ol-Pejeta, a private conservancy on Kenya's Laikipia plateau that shelters, among other endangered giants, the only two northern white rhinos left anywhere on earth, launched what it calls the world's first wildlife tech lab, that develops the latest technological weaponry to combat poaching. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA / AFP)

OL PEJETA, Kenya: Every morning, at the far perimeter of the wildlife reserve capped by Mount Kenya, a khaki-clad ranger meticulously sweeps the earth of animal footprints, covering their tracks from any poachers. 

It’s an antiquated approach to outsmarting would-be hunters, but this ranger is not alone. High on a mast nearby, a new camera scans around the clock for intrusions, relaying real-time images to armed guards at park headquarters.