Scientists Are Injecting Rhinos With Radioactive Material. It’s Saving Their Lives.
created: Aug. 5, 2025, noon | updated: Aug. 11, 2025, 2:44 p.m.
Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:The Rhisotope Project is embedding radioactive isotopes in the horns of rhinos in an effort to prevent poaching.
Scientists working on the cleverly named Rhisotope Project have begun work embedding radioactive isotopes in the horns of wild rhinos in South Africa.
Test results were negative in all of the test rhinos, which assured Larkin that the project could be scaled up.
Tests on 3D-printed rhino horns embedded with the same isotopes proved that they could not make it past security devices.
The Rhisotope Project hopes to eventually expand its program to include other endangered species sought by poachers, such as elephants and pangolins.
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