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In the battle against poachers, conservationists have become embroiled in a technological arms race.

And now Instagram is being used as a weapon. Recent reports suggest poachers are increasingly using geo-tagged photos on the site to quickly track down their prey.

A photo posted on Twitter this week by Eleni de Wet in South Africa reveals just how much of a concern geo-tagged tourist photos have become.

This photo posted on Twitter by Eleni de Wet in South Africa reveals just how much of a concern geo-tagged tourist photos have become in the battle against poachers

'The method is to send a young couple on safari with a GPS-enabled smartphone, which they use to take a photo of the rhino,' said Marc Reading, whose marketing and communications company represents South Africa's national parks, in an interview with the Sunday Times.

'The exact co-ordinates are attached to the picture, allowing poachers to come in after dark and track the animal.'

The problem is that many images are automatically geo-tagged without the photographer realising they've revealed the coordinates of where the photo was taken, according to a report in Quartz.

The battle between poachers and conservationists has also taken the form of hackers trying to get access to the GPS data of a Bengal tiger.

Meanwhile drones – which are being used to track poachers – and also being used by the poachers themselves to hunt animals.

In 2013, nearly three rhinos were poached every day, representing more than a 150 per cent increase on the number killed in 2012

In New Mexico, the state Game Commission is set to vote this month on a proposal that would make it illegal to use drones to signal an animal's location.

Last year was the worst year on record for rhino poaching in South Africa, with 1004 illegally killed, according to South African Department of Environmental Affairs figures released in January.

This means nearly three rhinos were poached every day, representing more than a 150 per cent increase on the number killed in 2012 - and a 3000 per cent increase since 2007.

Poaching means white rhino numbers in South Africa are getting dangerously close to the tipping point when deaths outnumber births, pushing the population into serious decline.

Rhino horns, which can earn as much as £11,800 ($20,000) per kilogram on the black market, are believed to cure a number of illnesses and ailments, including poisoning, hallucinations, typhoid, carbuncles, cancer, fever, and boils.

But Dr Arne Schiotz of WWF told the National Geographic, said: 'You would get the same effect from chewing your own fingernails.'

Many images are automatically geotagged without the photographer realising they've revealed the coordinates of where the photo was taken