South African rhino horns turned radioactive to fight poachers
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Rhino Horns Made Radioactive To Avoid Poaching
Project Rhisotope aims to deter traffickers and protect endangered rhinos from slaughter. Scientists inject a tiny amount of radioactive isotope directly into a sedated rhino’s horn. The dosage is far below harmful levels for the animal but strong enough to be picked up by radiation detectors at airports, seaports, and border crossings. Researchers found they could detect a treated horn inside a sealed 12‑meter shipping container, making smuggling far riskier for poachers. If widely implemented, it could mark a turning point in the war on poaching in South Africa. In South Africa alone, roughly 500 rhinos are killed every year, largely because of illegal horn trade.
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In South Africa, a pioneering project is taking the fight against poaching to a new level—by making rhino horns slightly radioactive. Known as Project Rhisotope, the initiative aims to deter traffickers and protect endangered rhinos from slaughter.
How It Works
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Scientists inject a tiny amount of radioactive isotope directly into a sedated rhino’s horn.
This dosage is far below harmful levels for the animal but strong enough to be picked up by radiation detectors at airports, seaports, and border crossings.
Detecting Horns Anywhere in Transit
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Even at minimal levels, the isotopes trigger alarms in nuclear security systems worldwide.
Researchers found they could detect a treated horn inside a sealed 12‑meter shipping container, making smuggling far riskier for poachers.
Backed by Rigorous Safety Tests
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Before the public rollout, scientists at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Radiation Physics and Health Unit spent a year running trials on around 20 sanctuary rhinos.
The results confirmed the process is completely safe for the animals.
The First Public Injection Campaign
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Five rhinos have now been treated in the project’s initial phase.
The team hopes this will be the start of a mass‑injection program across South Africa’s rhino population, involving both public reserves and private wildlife parks.
Why Radioactivity Could Change the Game
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The treated horns can be tracked at any stage of transport, from wilderness to international borders.
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This means customs agents have a new, powerful tool to intercept illicit shipments before they reach black market buyers.
The Poaching Crisis in Numbers
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A century ago, about 500,000 rhinos roamed the planet. Today, that figure has plummeted to just 27,000, largely because of illegal horn trade.
In South Africa alone, roughly 500 rhinos are killed every year.
South Africa’s Critical Role
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Home to around 16,000 rhinos, more than half the world’s population, South Africa is a frontline battleground in the poaching crisis.
Conservationists say protecting the country’s rhinos is key to the species’ survival.
Collaboration Across Disciplines
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Project Rhisotope is a joint effort between nuclear scientists, conservationists, and government agencies. Their shared goal: make rhino horns too risky to traffic, while setting a precedent for wildlife protection worldwide.
A Call to Join the Effort
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The University of the Witwatersrand is urging wildlife park owners, conservation groups, and government agencies to adopt the radioactive treatment. If widely implemented, it could mark a turning point in the war on poaching.
Scientists in South Africa are making rhino horns radioactive to fight poaching
Five rhinos were injected in what the university hopes will be the start of a mass injection of the declining rhino population. The radioactive isotopes even at low levels can be recognized by radiation detectors at airports and borders, leading to the arrest of poachers and traffickers. South Africa has the largest population of rhinos with an estimated 16,000 but the country experiences high levels of poaching with about 500 rhinos killed for their horns every year. The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that the global rhinos population stood at around 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th century but has now declined to around 27,000 due to continued demand for rhino horns on the black market.
A sedated rhino is being prepared before a hole is drilled into its horn and isotopes carefully inserted, at a rhino orphanage in Mokopane, South Africa, Thursday, July 31, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Alfonso Nqunjana
A South African university launched an anti-poaching campaign Thursday to inject the horns of rhinos with radioactive isotopes that it says are harmless for the animals but can be detected by customs agents.
Under the collaborative project involving the University of the Witwatersrand, nuclear energy officials and conservationists, five rhinos were injected in what the university hopes will be the start of a mass injection of the declining rhino population.
They’re calling it the Rhisotope Project.
Last year, about 20 rhinos at a sanctuary were injected with isotopes in trials that paved the way for Thursday’s launch. The radioactive isotopes even at low levels can be recognized by radiation detectors at airports and borders, leading to the arrest of poachers and traffickers.
Researchers at Witwatersrand’s Radiation and Health Physics Unit say that tests conducted in the pilot study confirmed that the radioactive material was not harmful to the rhinos.
“We have demonstrated, beyond scientific doubt, that the process is completely safe for the animal and effective in making the horn detectable through international customs nuclear security systems,” said James Larkin, chief scientific officer at the Rhisotope Project.
Professor James Larkin injects the horn of a rhino with radioactive isotopes, at a rhino orphanage in Mokopane, South Africa, Thursday, July 31, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Alfonso Nqunjana
Rhinos are photographed at a rhino orphanage in Mokopane, South Africa, Thursday, July 31, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Alfonso Nqunjana
Professor James Larkin drills a hole into a rhinos horn to inject with radioactive isotopes, at a rhino orphanage in Mokopane, South Africa, Thursday, July 31, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Alfonso Nqunjana
“Even a single horn with significantly lower levels of radioactivity than what will be used in practice successfully triggered alarms in radiation detectors,” said Larkin.
The tests also found that horns could be detected inside full 40-foot shipping containers, he said.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that the global rhino population stood at around 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th century but has now declined to around 27,000 due to continued demand for rhino horns on the black market.
South Africa has the largest population of rhinos with an estimated 16,000 but the country experiences high levels of poaching with about 500 rhinos killed for their horns every year.
The university has urged private wildlife park owners and national conservation authorities to have their rhinos injected.
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