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Wildlife ACT Innovations

@wildlifeactinno

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Field-proven technology & systems, tailored for you by trusted conservationists.
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When twenty Black Rhinos stepped into their new home in Botswana, an impressive ground team of people and advanced tools had been established to follow their first steps. Involved in the layout and design of the LoRaWAN system and supplying the tracking technology, WWF SA Black Rhino Range Expansion Project, Wildlife ACT and the reserve Rangers had the equipment and capability to monitor and maintain watch over these Rhinos, from the moment of release and through the months ahead.

Every landscape asks something different of the people working in it, and tests the true strength of technological engineering, and this one is no exception. It is the rangers and partners on the ground who turn that technology into care, watching as the Rhinos habituate, explore, and begin to establish themselves within the new environment. We are grateful to be one small part of that immense teamwork and dedication.

@ezemvelokznwildlife @wwfblackrhinoproject @wwfsa @wereldnatuurfonds

📸 @anel0_wildlife / @wildlife_act

#BlackRhino #RhinoConservation #Translocation #BRREP #WWF #WWFSouthAfrica #Botswana #SouthAfrica #EzemveloKZNWildlife #WildlifeACT #CriticallyEndangered #WildlifeTracking #ConservationTech #WildInno by @wildlifeactinno

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13 days ago

Monitoring Lions through GPS collaring is a proven method to keep records of prides and populations across protected areas. A collar reports in, a point moves across a map, and a pride’s habits slowly take shape: where they move, rest & hunt is kept record of.

Over the past decade, we have learned the reality of the pressures that Lion populations are facing.

Through fine-scale data, we can detect & alert to behavioural anomalies, and inform ground teams for rapid response. Watching from a distance carries its own weight. It also reminds us why the work matters, and how this technology can keep field teams, vets, and managers updated as they turn signals into action.

Video credit to @mpilogamereserve

#LionConservation #AfricanLion #BigCats #WildlifeTracking #AntiPoaching #SouthernAfrica #ConservationTech by @wildlifeactinno

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9 days ago

What happens before a tracker gets to deployment in the field?

Every device WildInno develops and deploys on priority wildlife species today carries lessons from the ones that came before it. Feedback from reserves and conservationists in the field has shaped, upgraded and changed with each version — longer battery life, better fit for different terrain, further VHF performance where it mattered most.

None of that came from getting it right the first time. It came from setbacks, adjustments, and conservationists working with us throughout the testing and design process.

Photograph one accredited to @wildlife_act, Senior Field Technician
@gareth.ivor

#ConservationTech #WildlifeTracking #WildInno #TechForConservation #ConservationPartnership by @wildlifeactinno

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2 months ago

There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, that makes me happier than spotting wild dogs on safari. 🐾 by @wildlifeactinno

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6 days ago

Behind the priority species wildlife tracking collars, fenceline alerts, vehicle and personnel-ranger tracking systems is a gateway network quietly doing the work. In August, the WildInno and Wildlife ACT's Tech & Data team carried out a site visit to Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park to assess gateway health and antenna alignment across the park.

📍 Signal reliability — antenna checks are vital to ensure every LoRa device can communicate optimally
📍 Uninterrupted tracking — a gateway offline is a blind spot that needs to be resolved as soon as possible
📍 Infrastructure care — solar panels, mounts, and cabling are inspected for wear and tear; establishing what requires updates and replacements before it becomes a weakness is key

Keep the towers healthy, and everything relying on them stays on track.

#LoRaWAN #ConservationTech #HluhluweiMfolozi #WildlifeTracking #IoT #TechForConservation by @wildlifeactinno

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7 days ago

Incoming! The proverbial rhino is out of the bag: BRREP recently completed a historic translocation of black rhinos from South Africa to Botswana. After two months of quarantine, a 36 hour road trip and a few days adjusting in bomas in Botswana, the rhinos have been released and settling into their new home. This translocation has doubled Botswana's black rhino population.

📷Tessel in 't Veld / WWF NL

#blackrhino #BRREP #release #translocation #WWF #conservation #wildlife #botswana by @wildlifeactinno

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a month ago

Collaring cheetah is about far more than knowing where an animal is.

For endangered and threatened species, tracking collars provide vital information that helps conservation teams monitor movement, understand habitat use, respond to risks, and make better management decisions in real time.

Drones are becoming an incredibly valuable tool in this work. From the air, they help locate animals quickly and safely, guiding veterinary teams into position while reducing time on the ground, minimising disturbance, and improving overall efficiency.

This technology is changing the conventional way of doing things — giving conservation teams better eyes, faster information, and a safer way to support the wildlife they are working to protect.

Every collar fitted, every flight completed, and every data point collected helps build a stronger future for cheetah conservation.

#WildSkyFoundation #CheetahConservation #WildlifeConservation #EndangeredSpecies #ConservationTechnology by @wildlifeactinno

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3 months ago

How do we keep eyes on a Vulture, a Rhino, or an African Wild Dog once it moves out of sight?

It comes down to matching the right device to the right animal.

Four we rely on:
💡 The GSM backpack on a Vulture sends its positions over the same network our cell phones use, so wherever there is signal, we can follow the bird.
💡 The LoRa pod on a Rhino sits in the tip of the rear horn, blending in while relaying near real time positions across the protected area.
💡 The VHF collar is our tried and tested backup, located by ear in the field with an antenna and years of experience, and needing no network at all.
💡 The satellite collar reaches us from almost anywhere with a clear view of the sky, made for animals that roam far and wide.

Whatever we fit, the welfare of the individual comes first. We choose the lightest, least intrusive device that can still do the job.

Want the full breakdown of all four? Visit the link in our bio to read our latest blog post.

Post by: @phillip_swart, Wildlife ACT Technical Solutions Coordinator

Photos: @wildlifeactinno, @caseyprattphoto / @loveafricamarketing, Megan Whittington

#WildlifeACT #Zululand #saveourspecies #EndangeredSpecies #WildlifeTracking by @wildlifeactinno

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2 months ago

Thinking of LoRaWAN as an ecosystem: interconnected systems and people working together to make it happen;

What's promising is the direction things are heading: lighter GPS collars, power-efficient sensors for fencelines to vehicles, smarter networks, and tools that are assisting the people and species they're built to support.

No single device carries that forward on its own — a collar means little without a gateway to receive it, a gateway means little without a platform to make sense of what it collects, and a platform means little without the people in the field acting on it.

As these systems learn to communicate more seamlessly with one another, the outlook for conservation and reserve-management improves— not because of any one breakthrough, but because more fields are working in step toward the same mission.

#ConservationTech #WildlifeTracking #Innovation #WildInno #TechForConservation #ConservationFuture by @wildlifeactinno

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15 days ago

In honour of World Rhino Day, we look back at the past decade of work committed to protecting these species. A decade or two ago, moving Black or White Rhinos into protected areas to grow their numbers was still a relatively bold idea. Since then, patient work has quietly reshaped what recovery can look like for the species — populations established in new protected areas, offspring born generations after the first move, and orphaned Rhinos rehabilitated and returned to the wild, going on to breed naturally.

It takes teamwork and immense collaboration: reserves willing to accept responsibility, teams working alongside individual Rhinos for years, and partnerships built on trust. One Rhino, one calf, one protected area at a time.

Photography credited to @wildlife_act

#WorldRhinoDay #RhinoConservation #BlackRhino #WhiteRhino #SouthernAfrica #WildInno by @wildlifeactinno

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a month ago

Tracking a Vulture or Raptor is a different design problem entirely from tracking a mammal on the ground. Weight, balance, and drag matter in ways a collar never has to account for — every gram affects flight, not just comfort.

That difference is shaping what's currently on the drawing board. Lighter, flight-ready tracking devices are in development, built specifically around what bird life needs rather than adapted from what already works for mammals. Stay tuned,

Photography credited to @chantellemelzer @wildtomorrow

#ConservationTech #VultureConservation #RaptorTracking #WildlifeTracking #WildInno #TechForConservation by @wildlifeactinno

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22 days ago

What spring changes for wildlife tracking,

As Southern Africa moves into spring, the landscape itself starts coming to life again, and with these changes, animal movements diversify, and tracking technology can begin to behave differently as well.

New vegetation growth and thicket can affect signal strength across a reserve, while earlier hours waking means an adjustment in GPS schedules across the board to meet animals' adapted mannerisms to earlier and longer daylight hours. WildInno works closely with management and ecologists to make these changes mean the most.

Spring also carries its own quiet privilege: it's known as birthing season across much of the region, and reserves welcome new members into populations already being watched over. Being able to monitor and track a new mother from the moment her young is welcomed onto a reserve is something special in and of itself.

Technology doesn't pause for spring. We adapt it to meet the changing behaviour and to ensure performance is never hindered,

Photography one by @brandiewettstein, Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park

#ConservationTech #WildlifeTracking #SpringInAfrica #WildInno #TechForConservation #SeasonalMonitoring by @wildlifeactinno

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19 days ago