The international NGO Panthera has been using acoustical monitoring systems to support their anti-poaching patrols in Guatemala and Honduras since 2017. The acoustical recorders can pick up gunshots, conversations and wildlife sounds, and help rangers plan their patrols to be more effective in combating illegal activities. Panthera is particularly concerned about protecting the jaguar, which is threatened by poaching, wildlife trafficking and habitat loss in this region. A gunshot explodes through the rainforest, followed by what sounds like branches falling from a tree. A dog barks. “Tito, did I hit it?” a man asks his companion in Spanish. “Oh yes, I did hit it. Look, there is blood dripping. I shot it from over there.” These sounds were recorded on an acoustical monitoring unit deployed by Panthera , a wild cat conservation organization, in Guatemala’s Sierra Caral National Protected Area, a region close to the Honduras border. “We believe they shot an animal that was up the trees,” Franklin Castañeda, Panthera’s Honduras director, told Mongabay. “I’m guessing it could have been a monkey or some kind of great curassow bird.” In 2017, Panthera started using acoustical monitoring systems to help strengthen its anti-poaching patrols in three protected areas: Honduras’s […]
Latest Articles
Why Growing Forests Are Awesome
Why Growing Forests Are Awesome Guest Post by: Job van Hooijdonk, co-founder of Regreener In 2016, a record of 29.7 million hectares of forest disappeared. That's2 90,000 square...
The Benefits of Adaptive Reusing Old Buildings into New
Takeaways: Reusing old buildings instead of building new ones can benefit communities, inhabitants and the environment.
Reusing these buildings helps maintain the community's roots...
How Replacing Coal with Renewable Energy Could Pay for Itself
Takeaways: Transitioning from coal to renewable energy can result in an economic gain of $78 trillion.
The benefits of ending coal use come from...
Unilever Invests in Biotech Alternatives to Palm Oil for Greener Cleaning
Takeaways: Unilever is investing in a plan to use plant-based ingredients in their extensive household product range.
The company has partnered with a U.S....
How Indigenous Traditions Are Saving Zimbabwe’s Endangered Wildlife
Takeaways: A mix of beliefs, taboos and myths, passed orally from generation to generation, has been at the centre of wildlife conservation in many...
Can Biofuels Really Fly?
Takeaways: Researchers have developed a way that airplanes could be fueled by food waste.
The fluid is made up of volatile fatty acids found...