Iain Douglas Hamilton founder of Save the Elephants STE
Interview with Iain Douglas Hamilton founder of Save the Elephants STE and David Gachuche STE web designer STE were the first to track elephants back in the 1970s using high frequency beep transmitters GPS tracking was the next revolution in 1995 but the data had to be downloaded via modem heavy drain on battery power and meant getting close to the elephants usually by plane With the introduction of GSM came the ability to transmit the data in real time improving efficiency hugely There was also a significant cost savings and Iain recalls how using the previous system I had to either drive to the elephants or fly and then circle overhead for an hour downloading the data via modem Data volume has increased dramatically with SMS messages coming in hourly with details on the elephants time date latitude longitude movement and temperature The technology also allows them to build geo fences and wildlife managers receive warnings and can act quickly if an elephant strays into a certain area Iain explained we need to know where the migratory corridors are so we don t upset the animals migration patterns and therefore help reduce the human animal conflicts There are now self declared community conservation areas which proves the locals also understand the elephants needs and the government is now also convinced and is providing funding The devices used for tracking the elephants using both GPS and GSM technology are made using the same technology as car tracking devices We have a huge need for tracking the animals soon we will be tracking cheetahs wild dogs and zebra of which there are only 500 left in the world we need to know what the animals need to survive We supply our findings to EWASO conservation group who are central to conservation in this area and the GSM network allows us to collect an extraordinary amount of information at a resolution previously unattainable
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Photo credit: © Charles Sturge / Alamy / Afripics
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