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Read about five ways technology is used in the real world to keep our animal friends from completely getting wiped out.

In our mad rush to jump from one technological milestone to another, we sometimes forget that the rest of the world tends to get left behind, mostly to pick up our garbage and get poisoned from all the pollution we leave in our wake. We've experienced high-tech breakthroughs in medicine, transportation, entertainment and even pretending to care about each other. Unfortunately, we haven't even managed to completely stop other animals from dying out, in no small part due to our own selfishness. Fortunately, scientists and animal lovers have figured out ways to use sophisticated technology to help our animal buddies survive long enough to see us flying around in jetpacks and teleporting all over the place. Here are five methods that serve as likely demonstrations of what Iron Man would do if he were an animal rights activist.

GPS is used to monitor wildlife

GPS (or Global Positioning System) is a fairly normal thing. Heck, pretty much every business phone has it these days. It's used to figure out where you are, find out whether your partner is really running late because of a meeting or a night out with friends, and save gorillas from extinction. Wait, what? The North Carolina Zoo partnered up with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in 2007 to monitor the activity of the Cross River gorilla, an endangered simian species in the Nigeria-Cameroon border. Using GPS technology, the organizations collect data on the gorillas' movement patterns, as well as their interactions with human beings and the locations of their nesting grounds.

No, not THAT Gorilla.

Drones are deployed to halt poaching

Apparently, all the scientific innovations and leaps in technology in the world still aren't enough to kill centuries-old idiocy. Believed to be magical, medicinal, and totally not just the rough equivalent of hardened clumps of hair, rhinoceros horns are still valuable in China and eastern Asia, which leads to poachers getting paid to shoot the poor creatures dead. Fortunately, the people of India and Kenya have had enough of this nonsense and decided to take matters into their own hands. Using unmanned aircraft drones, scientists are monitoring rhinoceros numbers and activity while simultaneously sending a clear "we're watching you" message to poachers.

It was either that or "give them a way to shoot back."

The Hubble Telescope watches whales

The software that makes the Hubble Telescope the sexy star-magnifying science beast it is has been utilized by scientists to keep digital tabs on the endangered whale shark. Since each whale shark has a unique set of markings on its side, marine biologists are able to keep track of them without having to physically tag them. Assuming, of course, that such a feat were even possible in the first place.

Yeah, good luck trying to tag THAT.

Very few animals have managed to make the transition from "Holy Crap, I'm Dying" to "I'm Alive, Guys, I'M ALIVE!" like the Arabian oryx. Classified as an extinct species in the 1960s, they've been brought back from the brink due to successful captive breeding. However, with the actual oryx population hovering dangerously between 5,000 and 7,000, Hitachi has partnered up with the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to make sure that those numbers grow steadily into the next decade. Using a solar-powered desalination unit, extracted desert groundwater is filtered and sent to waterholes as fresh water for oryxes to drink. Hey, it keeps them alive AND it makes sure they have shiny coats. Who could argue with that?

"Man, this water sure is dope."

Despite what Robert McKimson and Mel Blanc would have you believe, Tasmanian devils don't spin around like carnivorous tops of murder, and are definitely not invincible. Even more surprising is the fact that these cute little "devils" are being rapidly killed off by a pseudo-virus called "devil facial tumor disease". It stems from a single cancerous cell and kills the creatures through disfiguration and suffocation.

Scientists, recognizing the value of being able to breathe (and living by the immortal mantra "Not the face!"), are using genome sequencing technology to look at the genetic diversity of the devils and figure out a way to stop the disease from spreading.

The best part? None of these involve clicking the Share button, Liking a photo, or reposting a status message.

Author bio
Monique Jones is an Engineer who deals with telephone systems. Besides being an Engineer, she also works as a part time writer. She helps her colleagues and other people about their communication issues, giving effective solutions to address their needs.