School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK.
Proc Biol Sci. 2019 Jul 24;286(1907):20191135. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1135. Epub 2019 Jul 17.
Poaching fuelled by international trade in horn caused the deaths of over 1000 African rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum and Diceros bicornis) per year between 2013 and 2017. Deterrents, which act to establish avoidance behaviours in animals, have the potential to aid anti-poaching efforts by moving at-risk rhinos away from areas of danger (e.g. near perimeter fences). To evaluate the efficacy of deterrents, we exposed a population of southern white rhinos (C. simum simum) to acoustic- (honeybee, siren, turtle dove), olfactory- (chilli, sunflower), and drone-based stimuli on a game reserve in South Africa. We exposed rhinos to each stimulus up to four times. Stimuli were considered effective deterrents if they repeatedly elicited avoidance behaviour (locomotion away from the deterrent). Rhinos travelled significantly further in response to the siren than to the honeybee or turtle dove stimulus, and to low-altitude drone flights than to higher altitude flights. We found the drone to be superior at manipulating rhino movement than the siren owing to its longer transmission range and capability of pursuit. By contrast, the scent stimuli were ineffective at inciting avoidance behaviour. Our findings indicate that deterrents are a prospective low-cost and in situ method to manage rhino movement in game reserves.
自 2013 年至 2017 年，由于犀牛角在国际市场上的非法交易，每年有超过 1000 头非洲犀牛（白犀牛 Ceratotherium simum 和黑犀牛 Diceros bicornis）因此死亡。威慑物可以促使动物形成回避行为，从而有可能通过将处于危险中的犀牛转移到远离危险区域（例如，围场围栏附近）的方式，帮助反偷猎工作。为了评估威慑物的效果，我们在南非的一个野生动物保护区，用蜜蜂、警笛、斑鸠、辣椒、葵花籽、无人机发出的声音和嗡嗡声，对南部白犀牛（白犀牛 Ceratotherium simum simum）进行了测试。我们让犀牛接触了每种刺激物，最多可达 4 次。如果刺激物能反复引起回避行为（远离威慑物的运动），则认为它们是有效的威慑物。与蜜蜂或斑鸠的刺激相比，犀牛对警笛声的反应更强烈，而且与低空飞行的无人机相比，它们对高空飞行的无人机反应更强烈。我们发现，由于无人机的传输范围更长，并且具有追踪能力，因此它比警笛更能有效地控制犀牛的运动。相比之下，气味刺激物并不能引起犀牛的回避行为。我们的研究结果表明，威慑物是一种有前途的低成本、就地管理野生动物保护区犀牛运动的方法。
