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Cake's Solar-Powered Bikes Are Becoming the Go-To Vehicle for Park Rangers in Africa

What started as a simple educational project between the Swedish electric motorcycle manufacturer Cake and the Southern African Wildlife College has now become a growing initiative across the entire African continent. More and more parks and conservation organizations from Africa are starting to use Cake’s rugged electric bikes to combat poachers and protect the wildlife in the region.
Cake anti-poaching electric motorcycles 8 photos
Photo: Cake
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Even at first glance, you can tell that the Swedish-made bikes from Cake are built to take a punch and handle the roughest terrains, which is no surprise, as the ones I’m talking about, were specifically designed for anti-poaching jobs. It all began in 2021 when the Swedish manufacturer teamed up with the Southern African Wildlife College to develop a bike that can be used in anti-poaching raids.

The project turned out to be a success as now Cake announces that multiple African parks and conservation societies have placed orders for its Kalk AP solar-powered motorcycle, which seems to be the most popular model chosen by anti-poachers in their ongoing fight to protect endangered species. These electric two-wheelers are a superior alternative to traditional fossil-fueled vehicles in countless ways. They are reliable, agile, and fast but eliminate the need for expensive and pollutive fuel required with combustion engine vehicles.

One of the many commercial customers to use the Kalk AP is the Wildlife Conservation Alliance (WCA), whose projects and sanctuaries cover hundreds of thousands of acres across Africa. According to Ivan Carter, founder of WCA, the bike is preferred because it is silent, which makes it perfect for anti-poaching purposes, and it also disturbs the environment significantly less than its loud, fossil counterparts, making it less invasive. The motorcycle is also a game-changer when it comes to costs, helping the organization save a lot of money that would otherwise go into transporting fuel to those remote areas.

The Kalk AP off-road bike has been optimized for wildlife conservation. It features a powerful drivetrain with 280 Nm on the rear wheel and it can hit a top speed of more than 90 kph (56 mph). It offers three riding modes and its 50Ah/2.6 kWh battery offers up to more than three hours of riding time. Cake’s anti-poaching bike is equipped with upside-down MX spring forks with 200 mm of travel and 19” off-road motorcycle tires.

The Swedish-made Kalk AP goes for €12,000 (around $12,550) and is available to order on Cake’s website, along with other electric bush bikes.

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About the author: Cristina Mircea
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Cristina’s always found writing more comfortable to do than speaking, which is why she chose print over broadcast media in college. When she’s not typing, she also loves riding non-motorized two-wheelers, going on hikes with her dog, and rocking her electric guitars.
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