Rhino Population in Africa
Africa is home to some of the most majestic animals walking the Earth. One of the animals that has been in danger in the past twenty-five years in the Rhino. More specifically the Black Rhino. "Just 150 years ago, Africa’s Savannah's teemed with over a million black and white rhinos . But relentless hunting by European settlers saw rhino numbers and distribution quickly decline" (Panda). Poaching has become a big problem in Africa that has only just recently gotten attention to fix the problems. "A record 668 rhinos were killed for their horns in 2012, up almost 50% on the number for 2011" (McGrath). With the rhino's nearly going extinct, this opened the eyes of people making them take action to try and save the species. The punishment for the poaching has become more severe as well as the attention it has gotten to try and prevent it. "The arrests are a good first step in the fight against wildlife crime. It is imperative that these suspects are now brought to trial quickly and punitive sentences are secured to ensure they do not go right back to their poaching activities" (International). Some of these numbers can be misleading however, as since rhinos are endangered, it does make it harder to poach them with there being such little numbers. One of the reasons that rhinos are being poached is for their horns. It is one of the main ingredients in a number of traditional Asian medicines.
Even with all the things we have put into place recently, we still have a lot more work to do. "There are fewer than 27,000 rhinos left in the world today, and without collaborative protection and management, the five rhino species are all at risk of extinction" (International). We need to be better and help out the things that matter, especially helping animals that cant help themselves. It is good to see organizations like WWF working to help the local African population to solve the problem of poaching. They are "Working with TRAFFIC on the Wildlife Crime Initiative to investigate, expose and crack down on poaching and the illegal trade in rhino horn – and reduce demand" (WWF). This is a movement that we need to get under control so that we can fix the problems that we made. Although this has been about rhinos only there are multiple different species that are going through the exact same thing. With the right help, determination, and urgency, I know that we can come together to provide a brighter future for us and all the inhabitants of Earth.
Resources:
African rhinos. WWF. (n.d.). https://wwf.panda.org/discover/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/rhinoceros/african_rhinos/#:~:text=Black%20rhino,-Also%20called%20the&text=They%20were%20once%20found%20throughout,poaching%20between%201970%20and%201992.
McGrath, M. (2013, January 10). Rhino poaching in South Africa reaches record levels. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-20971182
International Rhino Foundation. (2023, February 27). A new poaching problem in South Africa. https://rhinos.org/blog/a-new-poaching-problem-in-south-africa/#:~:text=The%20number%20of%20rhinos%20poached,three%20fewer%20than%20in%202021.