To go on a safari and observe these beautiful creatures is one thing, to go on the safari and gather information for a kill is completely different. Not all poachers are going about it in this way. The majority of the paid killers are using innocent safari-goers to prey on their next victim.
For those who don't know, each picture you take contains a geotag, which provides the location of where the picture was taken. Anyone is able to access this information which means that poachers are provided with the coordinates of their next hunt. The article below focuses on the rhinos that are being taken down. They are easily tracked because they stay in a central area for days at a time. Once the poachers get the information from a posted picture, they follow the directions and wait. People are unknowingly contributing to the death of hundreds of animals.
While the parts of the rhino can go for up to $60,000 on the black market, the security efforts to stop the poachers is about $1.5 million. While the gap is huge, we have to remember that these animals lives are priceless.
In a world obsessed with social media, it's important for us to remember that there are also negative effects of the platform. We have to be smart about the way we use it. In such a prominently digital age, it is almost impossible not to capture import moments on your smartphone and post them right away. Because of this, some safaris no longer allow cellphones on the trip. While it may seem like an inconvenience to the innocent man, we need to keep our wildlife safe - or we may no longer have anything to look at on a safari.
Link: http://dailycaller.com/2016/07/27/poachers-are-using-social-media-posts-to-target-endangered-animals/
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