Welcome to the Jungle - Taking Infrared Thermography Off-Road

by Steve Edwards

Usually thermal imagers grace the realms of heavy industry, manufacturing and the like. So one would not expect to find one bouncing about on the back of an open Land Rover on the prowl for lions.

Having seen the obvious advantage of Infrared thermography in industry, we thought what better way to track down elusive night time predators. So, we thought it would be a very interesting exercise to go to the Phinda (pronounced Pinda) game reserve in northern KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Phinda is a Zulu word meaning "the return".

In one of the biggest reintroductions of game in Africa, in the 1990’s, Phinda was restocked with lion, rhino, buffalo, elephant, leopard, giraffe and other big game.