![]() It could graze the trees like a giraffe and was the largest land animal to ever have existed.Īt the brink of extinction in the early twentieth century, White rhino population, the southern sub-sub-species made a great comeback. (In the lineage, horns are a comparatively recent development.) Indricotherium, a perissodactyl with a length of 6 meters (20 feet), was the largest land animal to have ever existed. Early rhinoceroses had modest horse-like features and no horns. Other extinct members of the family Rhinocerotidae, a complex group that comprises several dozen fossil taxa, including the woolly rhinoceros, are occasionally included when the name “rhinoceros” is used (Coelodonta antiquitatis). All rhinoceros species’ ranges are currently plagued by a serious poaching issue. There have been some substitutes discovered, notably pig bone and water buffalo horn, but rhinoceros horn is extremely expensive in Asian markets, fetching hundreds of dollars per kilogram. ![]() In traditional Chinese medicine, powdered rhinoceros horn has long been valued for its anti-fever properties rather than, as is sometimes stated, as an aphrodisiac. The rhinoceros’ demise is partly a result of its horn. African animals, in contrast, lack these lengthy incisors that resemble tusks and instead use their horns for combat. When used by dominant male Indian rhinoceroses, these teeth, or tusks, can grow to a length of 13 cm (5 inches) and cause fatal wounds to rival males vying for the attention of breeding females. The three Asian species battle not with horns but with their razor-sharp lower outer incisor teeth. The white rhinoceros was rescued from extinction in the wild as early as 3-5, in the early sixties, this subspecies of rhinoceros now grows in a single country with the vast majority of the south, around 17,222. ![]() The conservation of one species over another due its monetary value being higher, distracts from what the main reason to preserve biodiversity should be, and what I think the majority of conservationists believe in – because its loss is simply wrong.The white rhino population is more or less declining in the African territory. The case of the African versus the Asian rhino exposes a complex side to conservation, one which the majority of people simply aren’t aware of. They undoubtedly believe in what they are doing and don’t want to see recent successes destroyed by a surge in poaching.īut there is a trade off. This isn’t a criticism of those who invest huge amounts of time and effort protecting Africa’s rhinos. They are worth more, to more people, than their Asian counterparts and are as a result the focus of more conservation efforts. The African rhino is therefore a perfect example of utilitarian-based conservation – the preservation of something because of its monetary value to humans. They simply aren’t as reliant on safari-dollars as a country like Botswana. In Indonesia and Nepal, where most of Asia’s wild rhinos live, tourists are mostly there for the beaches or the mountains. The “big five” – lions, elephants, buffalo, leopards and rhino – are big money. Why else would George W Bush go to Botswana? Shawn Thew / EPAĪccording to the World Tourism Organisation, wildlife watching represents 80% of annual sales for tour companies to Africa. ![]() Consequently tourism is an important stream of revenue for governments, private businesses and local people. The drive of tourismĪfrica is largely made up of developing countries whose economies are based on agricultural, rather than industrial, output. It mainly comes down to one thing: money from tourism. I also highly doubt that the global public value Asian species any less than African. So why are media outlets and conservation organisations focusing on African Rhino? Corruption, a recognised inhibitor to effective conservation, is arguably comparable in the regions that African and Asian species are found and can’t be used as an excuse. The recovery of the one-horned rhino in Nepal – numbers are at their highest since the 1950s – is a result of the effectiveness of such measures, but you wouldn’t know it as hardly anyone reported it. Action plans exist for the Asian Rhino and governments and charities have committed to trying to conserve the species, by supporting dedicated rhino protection units. ![]() It would be wrong to assume we have given up hope for the future of the species in Asia. Why? Even before the resurgence of rhino poaching in Africa, spending was biased towards the continent. More than 80% of money distributed by Save the Rhino between 2008-13 went to programmes supporting conservation in Africa. Just 60 now remain in the wild, and none in captivity. ![]()
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