Wildlife Watch: Samsung against poaching in South Africa

LThe occasion of the announcement is the World Animal DayOctober 4, the object the expansion of project Wildlife Watchwhich Samsung carries out in collaboration with Africam and the anti-poaching unit Black Mambato protect animals from poaching in the South African savannah.

Technology at the service of nature

Launched in 2021, the program uses the Samsung technology as a live “surveillance system”. to allow anyone to observe wildlife in the Balule Nature Reserve in South Africa, part of Kruger National Park. Thanks to virtual rangers who took part in the initiative with Samsungthe project has been hugely successful in keeping one of nature’s most threatened animals safe, the rhino.

Now, as technology advances, the program can exploit devices Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy S23 Ultra to broadcast live, 24/7 wildlife videosso as to catch traffickers in the act at any time.

Thanks to more advanced camera system and night photography capabilities of the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy S23 Ultra devices, together with a 200 MP Adaptive Pixel sensor and a telephoto lens with 10x optical zoom, Samsung smartphones will shoot videos in live day and night. Furthermore, the devices will support rangers, improving the quality of images sent to headquarters for poaching investigations and, thanks to the resistant materials they are made of, they will be able to better maintain themselves in the bush when rangers use them during patrol duty. Galaxy S23 Ultra, in fact, is water and dust resistant with IP68 rating.

Education and awareness

To ensure that locals understand the importance of wildlife conservation from an early age, Samsung has partnered with Black Mambas to create “The Samsung Bush Babies Animal Insights“, a educational program for young people from local communities which highlights the importance of wildlife diversity, conservation and protecting the reserve for generations to come. The Freestyle projector will offer optimal viewing in a compact and portable device, allowing the Black Mambas to illustrate the initiative Bush Babies Animals Insightsthe program to safeguard the cute bushbaby mammalswherever they are.

We can all contribute

But we are everyone is invited to take part in the initiative and become virtual rangers, helping to protect endangered animals from poaching, monitoring them in real time in their natural habitat and admiring these spectacular specimens live wherever we are.

By becoming a virtual ranger and participating in the surveillance program on wildlife-watch.com, you can alert rangers if you notice animals in danger or signs of poaching by clicking at the bottom of the live stream page, share the photos on social media to encourage others to participate and make a donation to the Black Mamba anti-poaching unit. Thanks to the different views of the cameras, the shots are always different, and users will have the possibility to observe elephants, lions and giraffes in the wild wherever they are.

Virtual rangers who want to learn more about signs of poaching activity can follow the Black Mambas Boot Camp. This six-part series gives rangers tips on the signs and noises to look out for during surveillance and explains the important work they do during their patrols.

Samsung and Black Mamba

Leitah Mkhabela, Black Mamba ranger, said: «Since the pilot project was started, no attempts to rhino poaching in the reserve. However, poaching of other wildlife in the reserve has not disappeared. Tourism is still below pre-Covid levels, meaning the park is less controlled, rising costs of living have led to increased poverty and recruiting new rangers is difficult due to low pay and difficult working conditions.”

Mark Holloway, MX Director of Category Management, Samsung Europe, said: «Samsung’s Wildlife Watch project has encouraged thousands of people around the world to work together to prevent poaching in the African savanna. This demonstrates the positive role technology can play in addressing real-world challenges. On World Animal Day and beyond, Samsung intends to continue to raise awareness of the importance of wildlife conservation and encourage people around the world to do their part and lend their support to the dedicated Black Mambas for the protection of nature”.

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