Poaching has become a growing concern for wildlife conservation areas worldwide, in some cases pushing animals to the brink of extinction. In a joint initiative, CAKE and the Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC) have set out on a mission to optimize the efforts to preserve conservation areas from poaching – using a silent, purpose-built electric off-road motorcycle that allows rangers to approach poachers without being detected.
With electric bikes for anti-poaching, rangers are equipped with mobile power stations and solar panels to charge the bikes with renewable power from the sun, allowing them to operate off the power grid and independent of traditional power sources. The bikes have proven very successful during conservation, especially during night shifts.
”The bikes we’ve used previously have all been loud, heavy and expensive to keep running in these areas. Sometimes we’ve had to transport the fuel with helicopters, which is very unsustainable and costly for us. With the CAKE bikes, we can ride quietly and protect the wild from poaching more efficiently. Ultimately, we do believe we will be able to save more animals.” – SAWC
Avoiding unsustainable deliveries of gasoline to the distant places where rangers are operating, with helicopters or trucks, have resulted in major savings in both costs and CO2 emissions.
That also means that more budgets can be allocated to salaries, hiring more rangers, and increased capacity.
