90 Tangible Impact on the Conservancy Ressijac has continued to develop surveys well beyond the initial work for her thesis at Tufts University. The workflows have quickly caught on, and the surveys have transformed into a meaningful tool for rangers and managers to capture wildlife data and gain insights. Now, Imire rangers and staff use GIS maps and analysis to communicate capacity needs, track territorial overlaps or fights, and understand their rhino population. “Having this deeper understanding helps us determine where to relocate a rhino or if we have space for others and how these changes impact the conservancy over time,” Ressijac said. A map of grazing resources showed that the white rhino population could be expanded, solidifying plans to translocate six new white rhinos to Imire in 2023. When the rhinos arrived, they were added to the survey system to see how they established and interacted with existing white rhinos. Since deploying the first survey in 2019, Ressijac has seen staff buy in and has received many requests for customized reports. Most importantly, the technology has gained support for a data-driven, adaptive management style. “Data provides an insurance policy in many ways for any manager, whether you’re at a small reserve or a national park, to back up why you make decisions the way you do,” Ressijac said. Ressijac is proud of what they have been able to accomplish. “Imire is unique because it’s like a living laboratory where rangers make it possible to really learn about rhino ecology through monitoring and data collection. Looking back over a decade, I can see how Imire has adapted and how I have evolved as a conservationist by working together in this dynamic environment.” In the short term, she hopes to continue developing custom wildlife monitoring surveys based on what the conservancy needs, such as the introduction of new animal species. She also wants to connect the program to a Zimbabwean Rangers confer over data they have collected in the survey app. Photo courtesy of Imire. A ranger stands watch in a bid to monitor and protect rhinos. Photo courtesy of Imire.
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