Samsung Expands Wildlife Watch Programme to Help Protect Against Animal Poaching in the South African Bush
• Committed to using technology for good, Samsung partners with Africam and The Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit to expand its Wildlife Watch pilot.
• Harnessing the technology in its Galaxy S21 Ultra and new S23 Ultra devices to broadcast live, 24/7 streams of wild animals in the Balule Nature Reserve, part of Kruger National Park.
SEOUL, Korea – October 5, 2023 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. announced the expansion of its Wildlife Watch pilot, coinciding with the World Animal Day, in partnership with Africam and The Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit, to protect against animal poaching in the South African bush.
Launched in 2021, the programme uses Samsung technology as a live ‘surveillance system’ to enable anybody to watch wildlife in the Balule Nature Reserve in South Africa, part of the Kruger National Park. The pilot was a tremendous success in keeping one of nature's most endangered animals, the rhino, safe thanks to the virtual rangers who took the watch with Samsung.
Leitah Mkhabela, Black Mamba Ranger said, “Not a single attempt to poach rhinos in the reserve has been observed since the pilot launched. However, poaching of other wildlife in the reserve has not gone away. Tourism is still below pre-Covid levels meaning fewer eyes are monitoring the park, the cost-of-living crisis has led to an increase in poverty, and recruiting new rangers is difficult because of low pay and challenging working conditions.”
In the latest enhancement to the programme, Samsung will utilise technology in Galaxy S21 Ultra and newest S23 Ultra devices to broadcast the 24/7 live streams of wild animals.
With the most advanced camera system and re-engineered Nightography capabilities, along with 200MP Adaptive Pixel sensor and 10x Optical Zoom Telephoto Camera, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra devices will film live footage day and night. They will also support the rangers by improving the quality of the evidence they send back to HQ to use as evidence for poaching investigations and, the durable materials used to construct the devices, will improve resilience in the bush when the rangers are using them out on patrol. The S23 Ultra is IP68 grade water and dust resistant.
The impact the Galaxy SmartTag has on improving the safety of the rangers and helping them coordinate conservation efforts in the bush will also be tested. Using SmartThings Find, Black Mamba HQ will monitor where individuals are in the reserve.
To help locals understand the importance of wildlife conservation from a young age, Samsung has worked with The Black Mambas to create ‘The Samsung Bush Babies Animal Insights’ an educational programme for young people in local communities highlighting the importance of wildlife diversity, conservation, and protecting the reserve for generations to come. The Freestyle Projector will deliver optimal viewing in a compact, portable device enabling The Black Mambas to teach the Bush Babies Animals Insights initiative from anywhere.
Mark Holloway, MX Director of Category Management, Samsung Europe said, “Samsung’s Wildlife Watch pilot encouraged thousands of people across the world to lend their eyes to prevent poaching in the African bush. It demonstrates the positive role technology can play in tackling real-world challenges. For this World Animal Day and beyond, Samsung wants to continue raising awareness on the importance of wildlife conservation and encourage people worldwide to take the watch and lend their support to The Black Mambas in this fight to protect nature”.
Everyone is invited to ‘Take the Watch’ this year and become a virtual ranger, helping to protect endangered animals from poaching by monitoring them in real-time in their natural habitat and enjoying live sightings of these spectacular animals from their own homes.
By becoming a virtual ranger and taking the watch on wildlife-watch.com, you can alert rangers if you see animals in danger or signs of poaching by clicking at the bottom of the live stream page, share what you see via snapshots on social to encourage others to take part, and donate to The Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit. With different camera views, it’s never the same watch twice, and you might witness elephants, lions and even giraffes in the wild wherever you are.
Virtual Rangers who want to understand more about the signs of poaching activity can learn more by watching The Black Mambas Boot Camp. This six-part series provides tips from the rangers on the sights and sounds to look out for when taking the watch and explains the important work they do on their patrols.
To watch the live stream, help protect vulnerable animals and donate to the Black Mambas go to wildlife-watch.com.
To find out more about Wildlife Watch, visit Samsung.com.
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry, and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at news.samsung.com.
About Africam
Africam was founded in 1999 with the key objective of connecting a global audience with the Live sights and sounds of the African bush. We are a passionate group of wildlife enthusiasts who have the collective ambition to protect our wonderful wildlife and the pristine ecosystems that they inhabit. With our live camera network placed in the remotest of Africa's locations, we broadcast our streams live to over 200 countries. To find out more or to become part of the Africam community, visit: www.africam.com.
About The Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit
The Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit was founded in 2013 by Transfrontier Africa NPC to protect the Olifants West Region of Balule Nature Reserve. Within the first year of operation the Black Mambas were invited to expand into other regions and now protect all boundaries of the 62,000ha Balule Nature Reserve, part of the Greater Kruger Area in South Africa. Its teams work to the concept of the “Broken Window” philosophy, striving to make its area of influence the most undesirable, most difficult, and least profitable place to poach any species. With a passion for wildlife and rhino conservation, these women are the voice in the community through their conservation work.
The objectives of the Black Mamba project are not only the protection of wildlife through boots on the ground but also through being a role model in their communities. They want their communities to understand that the benefits are greater through conservation rather than poaching, addressing the social and moral decay that is a product of the poaching within their communities. They are concerned for their children’s sake as the false economy has brought loose morals and narcotics into their communities.