Earthquake monitors could be used to detect elephant poachers

Seismic sensors aren’t just useful for detecting earthquakes. Biologists could also use the technology to detect elephant poachers in real time, Pacific Standard reports. When elephants walk, they create vibrations in the ground that can be “heard” by seismic sensors more than 3 kilometers away. Researchers figured that out by measuring ground vibrations created by wild elephants in Kenya. The team, writing in Current Biology , says networks of seismic sensors could be deployed in parks and other protected areas to detect a herd of running elephants—an indicator that a poacher may be after them.