With fewer tourists and less frequent safari patrols monitoring Africa’s national parks and game reserves due to Covid-19, poachers are making the most of the opportunity to wreak havoc on the continent’s wildlife. To help combat the problem, pioneering technology company Aficam has teamed up with Samsung and the all-female Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit to launch Wildlife Watch, a 24/7 live stream wildlife monitoring project in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Fan Edition handsets have been fitted to remote controlled frames that can rotate through 360 degrees in order to track wildlife movements and watch out for poaching activity. While an actual visit to Kruger remains impossible for many travellers, would be safari-goers are invited to ‘Take the Watch’ and check out the live streams, which focus on four watering holes in Balule Nature Reserve.