Also known as "echo" technology, acoustic traps are increasingly used to augment traditional anti-poaching patrols and monitor sound waves for sharp disturbances such as gun shots, chain saws, truck engines, blasts or airplane engines (Wrege et al., 2010; Wrege et al., 2012). Most systems consist of unattended, monolithic sensors that can be stationed throughout forests, but which then triangulate the source of suspicious sounds and provide detailed real-time information via a wireless network as to the precise location of the sound. Some are even equipped to automatically deploy drones or other unmanned aerial devices with GPS headings to collect evidence, photos or infra-red footage.

The potential for mobile technology hand-held devices linked through satellite communications to empower the general public and play a pivotal role is only just being realised. TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, recently launched a mobile phone application (app). The app encourages the public to report illegal activity involving wildlife, and a host of other apps coming into the marketplace offer similar options. In Vietnam, three major mobile phone providers help send text messages to 110 million mobiles promoting public awareness to reduce demand and stimulate Vietnam's 90 million population to say no to rhino horns.

In India, officials launched an app called Hejje that allows rangers to use smartphones to track tiger movements, as well as notate through instant photo messaging important landscape features such as water levels, forest fires, and suspicious human activity.

Mikrokopters are universal aerial platforms that hover. They can identify a position and hold it as long as necessary to identify images, collect data, or calculate distances. Most mikrokopters are equipped with GPS, compasses, altitude control, telemetry and automatic systems that report back on altitude, power consumption, and so forth (HiSystems, 2014). Like drones, mikrokopters can either be pre-programmed to fly specific routes, or operated manually by means of a control stick and can be equipped with sophisticated camera systems.

Although most anti-poaching efforts focus on broad national or even regional campaigns, some technology is designed to be implemented one animal at a time. Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are microchips that are implanted into specific animals in order to track their movements through ground or mobile sensors and ensure that the animal is behaving normally. If an animal falls off the grid, RFID captured location coordinates can help identify the animal's last position and greatly enhance rapid-response capacity. RFID tags are increasingly commonplace in rhino conservation, where the chip is placed inside the rhino's horn (WWF, 2014; Edwards, 2014).

Mesh networks are digital communications systems that permit sensitive data to be transmitted quickly and safely without easily being monitored or hacked. One of the biggest problems with mobile technology is that it is available to all, and poachers are quick to pick up frequencies that monitor collared or micro-chipped animals, giving them a head-start towards their targets. But Mesh networks, which are now standard among military units, operate through complex routing algorithms that essentially scramble data upon transmission and then de-code it upon receipt, affording rangers and conservation teams the opportunity to communicate without poachers being able to listen in. It should be noted that not all mesh networks have encryption, and not all encrypted networks are mesh networks

Camera traps have been monitoring wildlife without human interaction for decades and have been adapted to anti-poaching. With the advent of highly sophisticated digital cameras and image capture, camera traps are increasingly being used to track the movement of poachers (Gessner et al., 2014). Recent models come with video feeds, automatic (instead of timed) triggers, heat sensing, vibration detection, infrared detection, and acoustic elements that can transmit data quickly and accurately (World News, 2014).

Cumbersome, short-lived radio collars that were once used simply to monitor an animal's movement a few decades ago have been transformed through advances in satellite technology, permitting researchers access to data that can aid in the fight against poachers (Kagande and Musarurwa, 2014). Accelerometers inside individual collars can now transmit information such as animal's health and deviations in ranging patterns suggesting the presence of poachers. When animals wearing collars meet, their collars automatically share data to expand the network. Innovations in the size, cost and durability of radio collars now means that a growing number of species can be collared, including tiny birds, rodents and larger elephants and apes

A number of databases track aspects of illegal trade, but most are limited by voluntary contributions from countries. Often they have outdated data that has little relevance to the current situation in the field, or heavy restrictions regarding privacy and use. Modern databases increasingly embrace ways to be more flexible and involve input from multiple sources. An example includes the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS), which tracks confiscation records involving elephant products and produces quick results. ETIS has been managed by TRAFFIC on behalf of the CITES Parties and is currently housed at the TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa office in Harare, Zimbabwe

Wire snares and metal traps used to catch wildlife have been a mainstay of illegal activity for decades, but poachers are increasingly working to hide their traps by either burying them underground or camouflaging them in vegetation. In India, TRAFFIC imported standard metal detectors to help forest guards uncover metal tiger traps, and several organisation in Africa have employed standard wand metal detectors used for airport security to help teams in the field identify snares (TRAFFIC, 2009). Metal detectors have also played an important role when investigating crime scenes involving dead or injured wildlife, as they can quickly pinpoint a bullet, which can be used as evidence and also help identify suppliers

Global Forest Watch, which was launched by the World Resources Institute in February 2014, is a dynamic, online forest monitoring and alert system that facilitates forest management by combining satellite technology, open data and crowdsourcing to guarantee access to timely and reliable information about changes in forests (WRI, 2014). Analysts are increasingly making the link between illegally logged areas and the illicit trade in wildlife. Ships that move contraband timber sometimes also transport illegal wildlife. Furthermore, seemingly innocuous roads cutting into virgin forests can lead to the establishment of massive logging, mining and hunting camps that are impossible to identify from the ground. Satellite imaging can help monitor such changes.

DNA analysis has proved a game changer in wildlife crime investigation. Pioneered by Samuel Wasser, of the University of Washington, in Seattle, DNA analysis of ivory, when compared with DNA-based mapping of elephant populations, allows investigators to pinpoint the origins of illicit ivory and focus enforcement on high-risk areas. DNA analysis has proved a game changer in wildlife crime investigation. DNA barcoding, first developed by researchers at University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada, allows researchers to identify species from very small fragments of genetic material. The International Barcode of Life project, an initiative of scientists and conservationists in 25 countries, is creating a global DNA barcode library of species.

With poaching on the rise, Africa's rhinos could be extinct within a few decades. Thousands are slaughtered every year for their horns, which sell for about $30,000 a pound. The horns are used in traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicines, and despite Western medicine having shown that these treatments typically don't work, demand for products from endangered species continues to rise. A Seattle-based company called Pembient thinks it can curb the butchery by bioengineering rhino horns that look and taste like the real thing. The team has already created a powdered version of the fake horn, but New Scientist reports that next month, the company plans to unveil a 3D printed faux rhino horn. The product could go on sale as early as next autumn and would cost one-tenth the price of a real rhino horn, thus hopefully putting poachers out of business.

Even simple technology upgrades can make a big difference. In Kenya, the ranger service replaced its two-way radio network, prone to interference and lacking security features, with a digital radio network that allows rangers to communicate securely over long distances, coordinate with headquarters, and respond faster to poaching incidents and illegal park entries.