Crowdsourced-powered website used to save rhino

16-year old Nadav Ossendryver became aware of an injured rhino in the Kruger National Park in South Africa via latestsightings.com the crowdsourced wildlife spotting website he developed. A member of the Latest Sightings community had informed him about the stricken animal.

Rhinos are an endangered species and this year hundreds have been poached for their horns. For this reason, rhino sightings are suppressed from public view on the website but shared with rangers and conservation organisations. A ranger was therefore able to rush to the aid of the rhino which had been caught in a poacher’s snare.

Thanks to the quick flow of crowdsourced information and the sensitive use of modern communication channels, the park rangers were able to take the necessary steps to help the rhino.

This is just one of many examples in which Nadav and his website have helped save endangered animals and improve the wildlife safari experience for tourists.

His journey began in the summer of 2011, when the then 15-year old went on holiday with his parents to the Kruger National Park in South Africa. Frustrated by the lack of animals they spotted, he developed an internet-based community where over 32,000 members (and growing) share real-time animal sightings.

Nadav’s passion for wildlife conservation means he has been awarded the title of Virtual Honorary Ranger by SANParks, the government agency that manages South Africa’s entire national parks system. In July, the Endangered Wildlife Trust named him their Eco-Ambassador for his tireless efforts towards the research of wild dogs and other endangered animals in Kruger.

Speaking about the Latest Sightings community, Nadav says: “I can’t believe it’s grown like this, I thought I would have 100 members max. I can’t wait to see where it goes in the future especially when we release the new app next month. The success of Latest Sightings is proof that people really care about our wildlife.”