A South African university has launched a groundbreaking anti-poaching campaign using radioactive isotopes to protect endangered rhinos. The project, called the Rhisotope Project, involves injecting the horns of rhinoceroses with harmless but detectable radioactive material.
The initiative, which marks the start of mass injections for the declining rhino population, is a collaboration between the University of the Witwatersrand, nuclear energy officials, and conservationists. Researchers have already tested the process on five rhinos, finding it to be safe and effective in making horns detectable through international customs security systems.
The radioactive material can even trigger alarms at airports and borders, allowing authorities to arrest poachers and traffickers. Tests showed that a single horn with lower levels of radioactivity than those used in practice successfully triggered radiation detectors. This means the rhinos can be detected even inside large shipping containers.
South Africa is home to over 16,000 rhinos, but poaching remains a major threat, with around 500 rhinos killed for their horns every year. The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that the global rhino population has declined from 500,000 in the early 20th century to approximately 27,000 today.
The university is now urging private wildlife park owners and national conservation authorities to have their rhinos injected with radioactive isotopes as part of the project.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/31/rhino-horns-made-radioactive-to-foil-traffickers-in-south-african-project