The Black Rhino

Introduction

The rhino or rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)is one of the largest land mammals on earth. The rhino has a very unusual body, it has two small horns on its head which is connected to a massive body, which is carried by four short, stumpy legs. The Black Rhino is critically endangered, the main reason why the Rhino is endangered is by humans, mainly by poaching their horns.

The Rhino Family

The rhinoceros family is a part of the ungulate family along with many other mammals. Ungulates are animals with hooves, which means they carry their weight on one or two toes.

The rhinoceros family contains five species, the Indian, Javan and Sumatran, which all live in Asia, but the black and white rhinos live in Africa. All these rhinos look differant with distinctive features, e.g. The Black Rhino has two horns, but the Indian rhinos have only one Horn.

Habitat

Black Rhinos live in various places and habitats, some live in rocky desert habitats with few plants, rainforest's on lower mountain slopes but most Black Rhinos live in bushveld habitats. A bushveld habitat is an area of land with coarse grass, dense areas of tough shrubs and trees such as wild fig and marula. These bushveld habitats are better known as thickets, the thickets provide cover and shade for other bushveld animals such as elephants, kudu, giraffe and occasionally the white rhinos.

Rhino Numbers

In the 1960's, scientists estimated that were approximately 100 000 black rhinos in Africa, but a count in 2003 showed that there were approximately 3100, the population has decreased so rapidly because of the demand for the rhino horns. The black rhino is already extinct in some places, in the others it will be likely that they could be extinct very soon.

How Poachers Kill

Rhinos are no near dangered from wild animals then humans, the humans kill rhinos for their horns. The poachers (the people who kill rhinos for their horns) use various techniques for catching the rhinos, they usually use wire traps or snares, the snares are a slow painful death, but some poachers will just use machine guns for a more quicker and efficient death. These traps are usually placed between water holes, on their tracks or on their home-range. The horns are cut of by either machetes or chainsaws.

Why Poachers Want The Horns

There are two main reasons why poachers cut the horns of the rhinos, both are for cultural traditions. In the middle-east a horn is given during a ceremony, marking the time when a boy becomes a man; the horn is carved into a handle on a dagger called a Jambiya. The largest demand for rhino horns come from South Asia where they use the horn in traditional medicines. The horn gets shaved our powdered then boiled into a potion which is supposedly relieves fevers. The demand for the expensive horn medicine has increased as more people have become richer.

The Black Rhino

Stopping Poachers

People have tried to stop poaching in differant ways. One is to make sure that the laws against poaching are put in place. A second way is to 'dehorn' the rhinos so the poachers won't kill them and thirdly is to encourage the people who use these traditions to update it so the rhino horns aren't required. Black rhinos are protected animals, meaning it is against the law to kill a rhino and sell its horn. If poachers are caught they face punishments which include fines and being put in jail, but many people take the risk to use the money which is bought from the horn (which isn't that much) to support their families or for other differant reasons, but the risk isn't that much as the land that the rhinos live in are huge and there isn't that many wildlife wardens. A poacher who is caught has to pay a fine usually around $10. But these poachers have the right equipment to go and poach a rhino quickly, and if caught can hurt or even kill the guards.
To dehorn a rhino a vet has to simply shoot a rhino with a tranquilizer dart so it falls asleep and than the horn gets cut off. Although the horns are important, rhinos can still survive without them. A problem with dehorning a rhino is that it is expensive to hire vets who will do it. But it is not a one-off thing either, it has to be repeated every few years as the horn can regrow at a rate of around 7cm per year.

The Rhinos Endangered Habitat

The number of people on earth is increasing, meaning more people need the land to live and work on, and food to eat. This means that the natural habitats are being destroyed and many wildlife populations (including the black rhinos) have decreased quickly. When habitats are destroyed people are usually happy as it means new jobs may be made. But when the land is cleared and the habitat is destroyed, it can lead to other problems as well, like if the land is used for mining, it may cause poisonous waste which can pollute rivers and land.

Preserving The Habitat

To preserve the habitat of the rhino and other endangered animals, conservation workers make protected areas. The conservation workers try to make the protected areas as large as possible so it can support other animals as well; but setting up the protected areas is difficult as it may be expensive to buy the land and it will also be very expensive to employ wardens and their equipment-vehicles, uniforms etc..

Conclusion

There is a lot of effort being put in to save rhino's by many people, but still, so many populations of the rhino are endangered. Sadly scientists think that the rhino could be extinct by 2002. This means within the twelve years a lot more effort needs to be put in, poachers need to understand that their are alternatives to killing rhinos for their horn, especially now that land is being cleared it opens many new jobs that need to be done.

By Josh