--- title: Geotagging Safaris Can Lead To Poaching description: Geotagged safari pictures might be leading poachers directly to their prey canonical: https://time.com/91323/stick-to-foodstagramming-poachers-may-be-following-your-safari-pictures/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-07T20:22:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:09:28.747Z og:title: Poachers May Be Using Geotagged Photos to Find Their Prey og:description: Maybe stick to foodstagramming og:url: https://time.com/91323/stick-to-foodstagramming-poachers-may-be-following-your-safari-pictures/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Poachers May Be Using Geotagged Photos to Find Their Prey twitter:description: Maybe stick to foodstagramming twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Stick to Foodstagramming: Poachers May Be Following Your Safari Pictures by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler May 7, 2014 8:22 PM UTC by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler May 7, 2014 8:22 PM UTC You might want to limit your Instagram activity to your brunch excursions. It turns out that [geotagging the endangered rhinoceri](http://qz.com/206069/geotagged-safari-photos-could-lead-poachers-right-to-endangered-rhinos/) you saw on Safari on has far darker connotations than letting your social media following know where you got that breakfast burrito. A [photograph tweeted by Eleni de Wet](https://twitter.com/Adampasick/status/463270048522440704), a branding and marketing company owner in South Africa, suggests that geotagged photos are leading poachers directly to their prey: > [](https://twitter.com/Adampasick/status/463270048522440704) While this image has only [recently been making its rounds online](http://gizmodo.com/poachers-can-use-your-geotagged-safari-photos-to-hunt-d-1572906832), conservationists have been concerned about the dangers of geotracking for some time. [In a 2012 interview with the Sunday Times](http://qz.com/206069/geotagged-safari-photos-could-lead-poachers-right-to-endangered-rhinos/), a marketing representative of South Africa’s National Parks explained how poachers are using basic technology to kill endangered species. The method is to send a young couple on safari with a GPS-enabled smartphone, which they use to take a photo of the rhino,” Marc Reading said. “The exact co-ordinates are attached to the picture, allowing poachers to come in after dark and track the animal.” The [concern has also been raised by marine life enthusiasts](https://www.flickr.com/groups/underwater-australasia/discuss/72157614301598095/) who worry that taking a picture of a fish could make it a target of aquarium enthusiasts. While technology can be a good thing for the preservation of wild animals—[drones have been used to track poachers](https://www.thedodo.com/drone-army-to-protect-and-save-524449274.html)—it also has a darker side. ([_Quartz_](http://qz.com/206069/geotagged-safari-photos-could-lead-poachers-right-to-endangered-rhinos/)) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/91323/stick-to-foodstagramming-poachers-may-be-following-your-safari-pictures/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/91323/stick-to-foodstagramming-poachers-may-be-following-your-safari-pictures/"},"headline":"Stick to Foodstagramming: Poachers May Be Following Your Safari Pictures","datePublished":"2014-05-07T20:22:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:09:28.747Z","description":"Geotagged safari pictures might be leading poachers directly to their prey","url":"https://time.com/91323/stick-to-foodstagramming-poachers-may-be-following-your-safari-pictures/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","Technology","Poaching"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/91323/stick-to-foodstagramming-poachers-may-be-following-your-safari-pictures/","name":"Stick to Foodstagramming: Poachers May Be Following Your Safari Pictures"}}]}] ```