The decline of black rhinos in the wild Problem: The decline of black rhino populations in the wild. The black rhino Diceros bicornis1 is smaller of the two African rhino species; they are also known to live in solitary as well as being shyer and more aggressive than the white rhino. Black rhinos are browsers eating shrubs, buses and tree’s whereas white rhinos are grazers. There are 4 subspecies of black rhino: Western “Diceros bicornis longipes”2 black rhino Eastern “Diceros bicornis michaeli”2 black rhino South-West” Diceros bicornis bicornis”2 black rhino South-Central “Diceros bicornis minor” 2black rhino The Western “Diceros bicornis longipes” black rhino is now extinct due in the wild this was declared by the IUCN in 2011. Now …show more content…
The rhinos that are dehorned are from rhino populations from rhino conservation. Rhino dehorning’s main aim is to deter poachers from hunting rhinos. The theory is that since the rhinos have no horn this means no need to kill the rhino. Rhino horn is consisting mostly of calcium, keratin and melanin. The horn grows continuously grows, this means that the rhino can be dehorned if it done correctly by a trained vet. The horn consists of nuclear DNA; this is how horns and carcasses are matched. Dehorning was first introduced in Namibia. This was done to protect the rhinos from poachers. Between 1989 and the early 1990’s not a single rhino was poached in Namibia. A large surge of improvements in security and funding for anti-poaching may have also decreased the amount of rhinos being poached. Dehorning can sometimes naturally occur; this happens through natural behaviours. Other countries in Africa have also had similar success with dehorning rhinos. Statistics have shown that rhinos that have been dehorned in Zimbabwe in recent years have a 29.1% higher chance of surviving that that compared to horned rhinos. “In Mpumalanga, South Africa, just over one-third of all the reserves’ rhinos (excluding Kruger NP) have been dehorned, and out of the 33 rhinos killed from 2009-11, only one was a dehorned …show more content…
Another problem is that they will hoard their horns and thus drive up the price of rhino horns in the market. Rhino horns are renewable thus they can grow back. This means that they can be harvest every 12-36 months and sold. This can be coupled with dehorning as a way to prevent rhinos being poached. This regular dehorning will therefore reduce the horns being available to rhino poachers. However this problem contradicts it’s the need for rhino conservation. The conservation is required to protect rhino’s from being poached so their horns can be used in traditional Chinese medicine. Poisoning rhino horns: Another alternative is to inject a mixture of parasiticides and indelible pink dye into rhino14 horns. This poisonous mixture has a risk of making people seriously ill if they consume the rhino horns. This drastic strategy was done, as in 2013 there were a record high number of rhinos poached with 1004 rhinos being poached in South Africa (see Fig. 4). This process of poisoning rhino horns is called
Continuous human degradation of the Cross River gorilla is the primary cause of their dwindling numbers. An amazing species that once prospered in the jungle has been abused to near extinction. Because human interference is the cause of the gorillas decreasing numbers, it is humanities obligation to suspend the practices that lead to their demise. In doing so, we must also explore the options we have to repopulate a species with an intellect second only to humans. Aside from the obvious cruelty of this issue, repopulating the Cross River gorilla is important because the gorillas endangerment is just a byproduct of the unsustainable, and barbaric human interference that is destroying an entire ecosystem. In addition to the extinction of the Cross River gorilla, we will also lose a vast unexplored environment. To end this species demise, we must fight to control the issues that
Wildlife conservationists are constantly working to supervise the rivers, forest, and other natural resources of Africa in order to preserve and protect them through prudent management. In Kenya, laws against trophy hunting has assisted these conservationists in maintaining wildlife populations. However, park rangers face a huge battle against the illegal poaching of these rare trophy animals, such as lions and elephants. In Asia, the demand for ivory continues to surge, despite the long-time ban on its international trade. The demand is so high that the Tanzanian government has developed plans to construct a commercial highway through the Serengeti in order to more efficiently trade goods with Asia (“The Need for Serengeti Watch”). However, the highway will also provide a faster route to the coast for ivory smugglers. The controversy surrounding the highway and its positive or negative effects on the economy, Tanzania as a whole, and the Serengeti is countless. Despite the debate over its benefits and...
There’s another catch to trophy hunting: it is extremely expensive. Permits for trophy hunting usually cost thousands of dollars, which leads to the idea that killing animals can actually help conservation. This concept might seem ridiculous at first, but trophy-hunting permits bring in a plethora of money. For instance, the so-called “ten-day ‘elephant package’ could cost… 36,000 [dollars]” (learnenglish). Even if you merely wish to watch the hunt, you are obliged to pay 3,800 dollars (abcnews). The prices are strikingly high, meaning that so is the revenue. South Africa alone brings in more than 744 million dollars every single year, making it its “most profitable form of commercial land use” (learnenglish). This enormous amount of money can not only be used to aid the many third world countries in Africa, but also with conservation. Many argue that by killing wild game during hunting, it causes some species to go extinct. However, strong economic incentive has motivated landowners to expand their territories, reintroduce species, and take care of the animals in general, which would indicate the opposite: more animals are safe. One might even conclude that the world is saving animals, by killing
Scientists suggest that hunted species, such as bighorn sheep, now have smaller horns than their ancestors from 30 years ago. Flocken endorses that “.hunters are not like natural predators. They target the largest specimens with the biggest tusks, manes, antlers, or horns.” In Defense of Animals International (IDA) argues that hunters concentrate on “game” populations and ignore “non-game” species that may lead to overpopulation and unequal ecosystems.
Long past are the days when poaching was simply commoners hunting on owned property. Poaching is now one of the biggest causes of modern extinction. Today’s poaching does not only consist of animal poaching alone. Modern poaching includes the standard killing or theft of endangered animals as well as supplying exotic bird markets, illegal fishing or over-fishing, illegal harvesting of timber and exotic plants, and acquiring laboratory animals for Western pharmaceutical companies (Lemieux and Clarke). Hunting in itself is not inherently an evil thing, as many rural communities survive off of hunted meats and other “bush meat”. In ancient Eastern Asia, hunting was a lifestyle that was sustained by local communities that did not have economies reliant on mass trade. The aboriginal people would hunt largely for personal consumption, both for meat and use of body parts of all of their prey for various medicinal
Ives, Mike. "Rhino Horn Craze Threatens Species." Los Angeles Times 8 Apr. 2012, sec. A: 3. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 22 Jan. 2014.
.... Some animals face endangerment because of human’s hunting activities and because of the climate changes. Due to the endangered rare species, people solve this problem by bringing these animals back to their natural habitat.
Elephants are an endangered species and they should not be killed for their ivory or they will become extinct. In the article The Poaching Problem the author writes” elephant populations have declined to dangerously low levels.” At the rate that poachers are killing these innocent animal the entire species of elephants will be extinct in the year 2030! That is only twenty five years, I know that does not seem like a long time but it is going to go by fast and every one will regret killing all those poor innocent gentle creatures. In case study 483 they author writes “ During the 1970s and 1980s elephant poaching had included about 1.3 million elephants killed for their tusks.” It is hard to distinguish between legal and illegal ivory so it is sold easily.
Yet, despite these controversies culling should not be practiced due to economical, ecological and socio-cultural reasons. Such as, failed culling (money wastage), eco-tourism, disruption of ecosystem, increase viral spread, disrespecting cultures and inhumanity. However, culling is still practiced today. The only way to stop is by finding a balance between the two opposing
Sikes, Roberts. and William L. Gannon. "Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research." Journal of Mammalogy 92.1 (Feb. 2011): 235-253. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.
Poaching is only one of the leading causes for animals being on the endangered species, so with all these poachers we need to protect the animals more closely. Animals that are close to extinction need to be placed into a zoo or sanctuary so they can flourish. People need to do this for the animals, they may not like it but it helps get their numbers up.
The dynamic natural environment and abundant wildlife are the most prominent features of the African continent. Due to its wide variety of biomes ranging from tropical forests to arid deserts, Africa consists of bountiful wildlife diversity. However, because of environmentally harmful human interactions, the variety of biomes is shrinking to all-time lows, which causes wildlife to die out. These detrimental human interactions, particularly livestock overgrazing and desertification, occur partly because the native people who depend on the land for daily life do not realize the potential benefits of wildlife and the unsustainability of their current ways. Poaching for horns and other valuable animal parts has also contributed to the decreasing amount of species present in the wild. However, the methods for conserving the wildlife environment differ in how they address the issue of the dwindling wildlife populations. The conventional method of conservation created in the mold of the Convention Relative to the Preservation of Fauna and Flora in their Natural State (also known as the London Convention) involves the complete centralization of wildlife resources to the government. The newer, more effective method called the Sustainable Use Approach makes drastic changes to the London Convention principles by decentralizing ownership of wildlife and allowing small communities and villages to manage it themselves.
The African elephant’s range has declined by over 50 percent since 1979 – and their populations are breaking up
In our world today we have approximately 26,021 endangered species. Endangered species are organisms that may possible become extinct. The term 'endangered species' refers to all species that fits this description. However some conservation biologists and scientists normally use the term ‘endangered species’ to refer to species that are put on the IUCN(International Union for Conservation of Nature)Red List. Many factors can be looked at when considering the conservation status of a species. Factors such as human threats or environmental threats can cause a species to become endangered.
Shah, Anup. Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions. Global Issues, 19 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 May 2014.