From satellite imagery to drones or camera traps, remote technologies are increasingly used to enhance wildlife crime detection worldwide. Whereas remotely tracking individuals allows for prompt detection of their illegal persecution, much less attention (concentrated in oceanic ecosystems) has been paid to tagged animals as sentinels to detect other species' poaching through their interspecific interactions. We illustrate this potential in terrestrial ecosystems by showing how GPS-tagged vultures, able to quickly locate dead animals, and GPS-collared wolves enabled the detection of poached wildlife of other species (i.e., illegally shot or snared wild ungulates and carrion-baited illegal snares) in Europe. We further discuss how these interspecific interactions could be systematically monitored to improve detectability of poaching events. Considering the wide variety of tracked wildlife across ecosystems, taking their interactions (e.g., scavenging) into account will enhance the utility of animal-borne technologies in addressing illegal wildlife persecution.

Biodiversity Research Institute Mieres Spain

BirdWings Science and Conservation Consulting SL El Escorial Spain

Bulgarian Society for Protection of Birds BirdLife Bulgaria Sofia Bulgaria

CIBIO Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos InBIO Laboratório Associado BIOPOLIS Program Genomics Biodiversity and Land Planning University of Porto Vairão Portugal

Friends of the Earth Brno Czech Republic

Grupo Sanidad y Biotecnología Institute for Game and Wildlife Research IREC Ciudad Real Spain

Mendel University Brno

Mendel University Brno Czech Republic

Palombar Associação de Conservação da Natureza e do Património Rural Uva Vimioso Portugal

Tragsatec Madrid Spain

University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Austria

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