Rhinos still remain favorite targets for poachers

Rhinos are among the most endangered species in the world. Their population number continues to shrink because they are being mercilessly hunted and killed by poachers for their horns which achieve very high prices in Asian black market.

According to a recent report coming from South Africa 341 rhinos have been killed in 2011 so far, already overtaking last year's total of 333.

South Africa has the largest rhino population in the world, with 1,916 black rhinos and 18,780 white rhinos. The total number of all of the five species of rhino in the whole world is below 25,000 with three species being critically endangered.

As already said before rhinos are being killed because of their horns. In several Asian countries such as China and Vietnam there are many people who believe that rhino horn can cure many diseases such as cancer.

Poachers and smugglers operate in well organized gangs which makes it very difficult for authorities to catch them and illegal Asian market is in constant high demand for rhino horns.

The latest proof to this comes from the Hong Kong where customs officers have seized 33 horns from highly endangered rhinos. Together with horns, officers also seized 758 ivory chopsticks and 127 ivory bracelets.

The worst part in the whole story is that the rhinos are extremely easy target for poachers. They may be very powerfully built but they also visit water holes every day, which means that they are being very easily killed while taking a drink.

The conservation efforts have so far been anything but successful and conservationists are even trying extreme methods – in certain areas, for instance, rhinos have been tranquilized and their horns removed to prevent poachers killing them.

Why are rhinos endangered?

There are three rhino species, Javan, Sumatran and Black rhinos that are being listed as critically endangered. Javan and Sumatran rhinos that live in Indonesia are at the very brink of extinction with only around 50 Javan and around 250 Sumatran rhinos still left in the wild. The Black rhino population that lives in South Africa currently counts around 4000 rhinos.

Poaching is the main reason why rhinos are endangered. Poachers hunt and kill rhinos because of their horns and then they sell horns to black market in China where it is being in heavy demand by the Chinese traditional medicine.

In the last 18 months poachers killed more than 500 rhinos in South Africa which means that conservationists are so far finding it very hard to compete with well organized poaching gangs. Particularly worrying is the fact that most of these killings have been done in world-famous Kruger National Park.

Poachers often use helicopters and automated weapons which makes conservation efforts extremely difficult. South African government is committed to stop this slaughter but poachers are still not stopping their massacre because they are driven with the very high demand for rhino horns on Asian black market. The government has even ordered military to begun patrolling Kruger in an effort to crackdown on poaching.

The rhinos, despite their gigantic size, are relatively easy target for poachers. This is mostly because they visit water springs daily which means that they are very easily killed by poachers while taking a drink.

Rhinos won't be safe as long as there is a huge demand on Asian black market for rhino horns. The traditional Chinese medicine believes that rhino horns are very effective on fevers and can even save life in some cases, and fighting against the tradition (whatever the tradition may be) is never easy.

It is really sad that humans are rhino’s only natural predators. Killing animals for money in the 21st century isn't something our civilization should be proud of and this brutal poaching needs to be stopped. One way or another.

Rhino poaching taking heavy toll in Zimbabwe

Rhinos are still one of the favorite targets for poachers as the latest example in Zimbabwe shows. We already talked about rapid decline in rhino population, and how three out of currently left five species are listed as critically endangered. The current rhino situation in Zimbabwe is alarming. In the last 12 months more than 100 rhinos were killed in Zimbabwe. This is the result of big money offered by Chinese black market to poachers because in China rhino horns are famous as traditional medicine, and are also used for ornamental dagger handles in some countries of the Middle East.

Poaching gangs in Zimbabwe are well organized, and they are also taking full advantage of the fact that country is currently experiencing total economic collapse where nobody respect current laws, and where people are actually doing everything it takes to get to money. All environmental experts agree that rhino situation in Zimbabwe is critical. The remaining number of rhinos in Zimbabwe is somewhere between 400 and 700, and not so long ago there was more than 1000 rhinos in this African country.

In one year more than 100 rhinos were killed in Zimbabwe

If current poaching trend continues Zimbabwe could soon lost all rhinos, and many believe that government isn't taking this situation seriously. Some even say that there are some corrupt ministers in the government that also share profits from rhino poaching. Government is of course convincing public that is doing all what it can to prevent poaching but that is really far from truth. It's true that they have de-horned some rhinos and moved them to safe areas but large number of rhinos still remains a fairly easy target for poachers. But since the horns regrow this is really of very little use to save the rhinos because process has to be repeated periodically to be successful.

Poachers have different methods of horn removing. Poachers use an axe, brutally disfiguring rhino's face. And the worst part is that poachers don't reverse the tranquillizer, so in most cases rhino dies from overheating. Even if poachers do get caught most of them are freed on minimum bail because country is so poor that there is even not enough fuel to drive poachers to court.

It has to be also said that government did introduce army and police in conservation areas and national parks to protect the animals, but this action hasn't turned into success because some soldiers even became poachers themselves, and some are not doing their duty just to get their share of profits.

It is very difficult to tell what is needed to save rhino population in Zimbabwe. Government said many times how it sees ecotourism as major factor that will revive economy in Zimbabwe but this will be very difficult if current decline of wildlife continues because there won't be any animals left to attract the tourists.

Javan rhino - World's most endangered large mammal

Javan rhino is probably the world's most endangered large mammal with latest estimates suggesting there is only about 50-60 surviving Javan rhinos. The biggest Javan rhino population lives in Ujung Kulon National Park on the island of Java in Indonesia (somewhere between 40-50 individuals), and the remaining number lives in Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam.

Javan rhino population suffered tremendous decline in the last few decades mostly because of poaching. Javan rhinos are among favorite poaching targets because rhino horn is valued highly for use in Oriental medicine (as a drug to reduce fever), and in Yemen for instance horns are carved to make traditional dagger handles. Horns can achieve as much as $30,000 per kilogram on the black market, and this is the reason why poachers still hunt them down despite being critically endangered and down to only 50-60 individuals. The other reasons for their tremendous decline in population include habitat loss, disease and loss of genetic diversity.

There are only 50-60 Javan rhinos left in the wild. This makes Javan rhino the most endangered large mammal on our planet.

Poaching for horns is main cause for decline in population of all rhino species, not only Javan rhino. Traditional Chinese medicine has history longer than 2000 years, and rhino horns sadly play important role in it as they are believed to have healing properties. When you combine this tradition with the fact that rhino's habitats encompasses many areas of poverty, it is really no surprise that people kill them to earn big money. Sadly, all previous conservation efforts have proved inadequate because of combination of these factors.

So what can be done to save the remaining population? Poverty and lack of ecological education make conservation efforts extremely difficult, and many experts agree that chances for the Javan rhino's survival are very slim. Especially since the remaining population is restricted to only two small areas, making Javan rhinos very susceptible to disease and the problems of inbreeding. Unless we see some drastic change Javan rhinos will soon have their habitats only in history books.

Endangered animals - Rhino

Rhinos, or to be more precise rhinoceros are mammals that belong to the Rhinocerotidea family. Today this family is left with five species, two in Africa, and the other three in Southern Asia, and what is even worse three of this five species are critically endangered (Javan, Sumatran, and Black Rhinoceros). The remaining two species are Indian rhinoceros which is listed as endangered with less than 3000 individuals remaining, and the largest species is White Rhinoceros with little above 11000 individuals remaining in the wild.

White rhinoceros is divided into two subspecies:Northern white and Southern white. While southern white population has respectable more than 11000 individuals, condition is even beyond critical with northern white population which population dropped to only 30 individuals by the year 2000. All remaining northern white rhinos have their habitat in Garamba National Park in Democratic Republic Congo, and even this hasn't help northern white rhino population because mostly of heavily armed poaching gangs, and insufficient preservation efforts. The situation with northern white rhino population has become so critical that scientists search for solutions in different artificial insemination methods.

Once back in 1960s there were more than 2000 individuals of white rhino population that not were not only native to Congo but also to Uganda and Sudan. But unfortunate frequent civil wars and growing number of poachers have brought this white rhino subspecies on the brink of extinction. Situation ended much better for souther white rhino population because back in the 1960s South Africa launched excellent programme that included guards protecting reserves and relentless actions against poachers. This action was highly successful as today there are more than 11000 individuals in the wild. This kind of action was impossible for northern white rhino population because of frequent civil wars that stormed through countries where northern white population had their habitats.

Rhinos are favorite victim of many poachers, mainly because Rhino horns are very valuable on the black market, as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicines or as dagger handles in Yemen and Oman.

Rhinos - Favorite victims of many poachers


Rhino population numbers (2007 estimate)

Black rhino: 3,610

White (northern and southern): 11,330

Indian: 2,500

Javan: 60

Sumatran: 300