In a bid to monitor and stop poaching of elephants and rhinos in all its 52 national parks and reserves, Kenya’s wildlife authorities have decided to deploy drones, the Guardian reported on Friday.

The government move follows a successful pilot project in major protected wildlife area, that saw drones reduce poaching by up to 96 per cent.

The country has lost over 435 elephants and around 400 rhinos to poachers since 2012, driven by demand for illegal wildlife products in Asia and elsewhere. Poachers have killed 18 rhinos and 51 elephants in the four months of 2014 so far.

“Use of drones has shown that we can prevent poaching and arrest many poachers in their tracks,” Paul Udoto, spokesperson for the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), said.

“The pilot project has been a success and we are working with many partners, including the Kenya police, the National Intelligence Service, and a lot of international partners such as Interpol, and Ugandan and Tanzanian governments.”