See How Drones Are Saving Elephants and Rhinos From Poaching

Drones are helping to stop poachers before they pull the trigger.

Endangered rhinoceroses and elephants have a fighting chance against poachers thanks to drone technology.

Over 100,000 elephants were poached in the last three years and 1,200 rhinos were killed last year alone. Poachers are killing the magnificent animals for the elephant usks and rhino horns.

Check out the story of one incredible baby elephant.

But now, supercomputer-powered drones are chasing away poachers day and night.

Air Shepherd, the non-profit group behind the effort, use the drones to alert rangers in South Africa's Hluhluwe Imfolozi Wildlife Park where the poachers are before they can pull the trigger.

The drones are equipped with thermal imaging cameras that show a team on the ground where the animals and poachers are in real time. They use some of the same technology used to find where insurgents have placed roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So far, not one animal has been poached during the 760 drone missions covering 1,000 hours. Air Shepherd is trying to raise $500,000 on Indiegogo to support their annual operating costs. They hope to put more teams together to end poaching in seven countries.