Our Story
How Terrasense was started
Jono first had the idea for Terrasense when he visited Matthew in the Greater Kruger National Park and had an inside look at working with wildlife and conservation. Whilst there Jono tagged along for the monitoring of African Wild Dogs, whose collar would only ping once every 24hrs as to not drain the battery life too fast. In the end they did not get to see the dogs. To Jono it was obvious, the issue was actually a battery problem that needed to be solved. Eliminate the battery, keep the tracking capabilities and you would be able to have near real time updates on anything you tagged - and so Terrasense was born.
Right: Jono O'Connell (Founder & CEO)
Left: Matthew Gie (Co-founder)
Pioneers of Wildlife Conservation Tech
Our first project will be with Umoya Khulula Wildlife Centre and the Pangolin rehabilitation project. Learn about the importance of our solutions to the project and meet our wildlife pioneers. Hear from Emma the Guardian in the video about the project, and why our tracking technology could be a complete game changer for conservation and read about Archie the Unexpected Trailblazer below.
The Guardian
Emma De-Jager
Co-Founder of Umoya Khulula
Emma De Jager never set out to be a pioneer.
She was simply a young woman who loved animals—until she found herself deep in the heart of South Africa, standing between life and death for the world’s most trafficked mammal: the pangolin. Over the past 18 years, she has dedicated her life to wildlife rehabilitation, founding Umoya Khulula Wildlife Centre and rescuing animals that have suffered at the hands of poachers, fences, and habitat destruction.
Five years ago, she encountered her first pangolin. The enigmatic creatures captured her heart, and she vowed to become their protector. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to reintroduce nearly 100 pangolins back into the wild. But one, in particular, has changed everything.
See how the tech works
The Unexpected Trailblazer
Archie
The Youngest Survivor
Meet Archie, Emma's most precious Pangolin.
Archie was never meant to survive. Born in captivity after his mother was stolen for the illegal wildlife trade, he entered the world in the hands of poachers—weak, vulnerable, and alone. But fate had other plans
Rescued as a newborn, he weighed just 240g (same as a medium sized apple) at one day old. Archie became the first pangolin Emma and her team had ever raised from infancy. He taught them so much. Against all odds, he grew from a fragile, palm-sized orphan into a confident 8.2 kg sub-adult, ready to claim his place in the wild. But Archie will do more than just survive—he is about to make history as part of the Pangolin rehabilitation project with Emma and Francois
Keep visiting our site to learn more about Archie and his fellow Pangolins during our time with them in the coming year. Support their return to the wild by learning more about the most trafficked mammal in the world and maybe you can be an ambassador for them and be a part of their story too.
Learn more about Archie
Archie
The Youngest Survivor
The Unexpected Trailblazer
Emma De Jager never set out to be a pioneer.
She was simply a young woman who loved animals—until she found herself deep in the heart of South Africa, standing between life and death for the world’s most trafficked mammal: the pangolin. Over the past 18 years, she has dedicated her life to wildlife rehabilitation, founding Umoya Khulula Wildlife Centre and rescuing animals that have suffered at the hands of poachers, fences, and habitat destruction.
Five years ago, she encountered her first pangolin. The enigmatic creatures captured her heart, and she vowed to become their protector. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to reintroduce nearly 100 pangolins back into the wild. But one, in particular, has changed everything.
The Guardian
Emma De-Jager
Co-Founder of Umoya Khulula
See how the tech works
Archie
The Youngest Survivor
The Unexpected Trailblazer
Meet Archie, Emma's most precious Pangolin.
Archie was never meant to survive. Born in captivity after his mother was stolen for the illegal wildlife trade, he entered the world in the hands of poachers—weak, vulnerable, and alone. But fate had other plans
Rescued as a newborn, he weighed just 240g (same as a medium sized apple) at one day old. Archie became the first pangolin Emma and her team had ever raised from infancy. He taught them so much. Against all odds, he grew from a fragile, palm-sized orphan into a confident 8.2 kg sub-adult, ready to claim his place in the wild. But Archie will do more than just survive—he is about to make history as part of the Pangolin rehabilitation project with Emma and Francois
Keep visiting our site to learn more about Archie and his fellow Pangolins during our time with them in the coming year. Support their return to the wild by learning more about the most trafficked mammal in the world and maybe you can be an ambassador for them and be a part of their story too.
