WildLife Group
of the SAVA
team, said the size of the park necessitates 2 000
rangers to keep it safe, but it can only employ 500.
“At present the criminals own the night. These
systems will help us take it back,” he remarked during
a demonstration of the Wide Area Surveillance System
(WASS), also called Postcode Meerkat, to the media. The WASS comprises a suite of radar and electro-
optic sensors that detect, classify, monitor and track
humans moving in the park over a wide area.
It is proving to be the light at the end of the tunnel the
anti-poaching team was looking for. Since it became operational in February, not one
rhino was lost in the area it surveys. Mr Mark McGill,
technical manager of WASS, said that poachers cannot
outsmart the system.
This is what you should know about how the system
works:
3. Visuals from the radar-system are send to an
operations room with skilled personnel
1. The WASS was placed high up in the mountains and
scans the Kruger National Park since 7 December
2016.
A major component of the recently unveiled Wide
Area Surveillance System is the Reutech RSR 904
ground surveillance radar unit.
2. Solar-powered 24/7 technological eyes in the sky do
the surveillance
4. An operator in the Majoc control room identifies
potentially suspicious behaviour and uses the
cameras to zoom in for a closer look.
5. On the screens lots of information is available
Smart thinking in its development allows WASS to
differentiate between humans and animals.
6. With clear close-ups necessary detail can be seen to
make decisions
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