The battle of the rhino war continues........

Ok one more blog before we take the long road. I was reading an article on rhino poaching last night and realized once again South Africa sits with a great dilemma. The more people are aware of this the better. So I decided to do something on Rhino poaching

Sometimes the horns are hacked off while the animals are still alive.
The means of killing the rhino are done by assault rifles like AK-47 and 303 rifles. The use of these rifles started thanks to the liberal wars in Africa in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. It left a legacy of AK-47 rifles in the hands of poachers. That enabled the start of the commercial poaching. In the modern times of today they are implementing helicopters with drugs like M-99 to tranquilize the animal and work quietly. Rhinos are very sensitive to this drug and can easily be overdosed. Now the question “where do they get the drugs” if only registered and qualified wild life vets have access to these drugs?

It is January 2010 and the horrific news continues, 14 rhinos have been poached thru out South Africa up to date. Where will it stop, will it ever stop? The rhino numbers plummeted down from 65000 in 1970’s to about 3600 black rhino in the whole of Africa. That is about 90% down from what they were. The rhino horn is a very lucrative market. The horn is being sold at between R12000-R25000 per kilogram. The biggest market is East Asia and China. Average weight for rhino horn is about 8-11kg. It is sold in powder form. The sad part is that medicinal wise, it is worth nothing. Rhino horn consists of Keratin, compressed hair. It is the same substance as our nails or hair, they can just as well chew on their own nails or suck on their hair, they will get exactly the same effect: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

I think because it is a cultural and probably money driven act it will never stop unless we as conservationists do everything in our power to stop it. I also feel that 5 years in prison is by far to a light of a sentence for such a crime. So Zimbabwe surprised everybody in October 2009 when a poacher was sentenced to17 years in jail for killing a female rhino. WELL DONE ZIMBABWE!! I have asked myself the question so many times………….. why use rhino horn?

I have read that the reasons they use rhino horn are:

· The horn comes from a powerful beast
· The horn is erect, straight, hard and long
· His skin is tough like armor
· It’s a very phallic symbol
· The rhino have balls like baseballs

How ridiculous but that is what they believe in, even in today’s modern world of medicine. In an article by Judy Lelliot, the Minister of water affairs and environment, it stated that an average of 36 rhinos have been killed in South Africa each year ( 2005-2008 ). Last year alone 125 rhino were killed.
2009 poaching:
· Kwazulu Natal :21 where 2 were black rhino
· National Parks : 41
· Provincial Parks : 33
· Private Reserves: 30
Yip these numbers are scary I know, and this is the ones the parks know of. Kruger National Park are employing the help of the army and police to assist in the problem. All of us that live in reserves can be of great help just to keep our eyes and ears on the ground. Even you guys out side the parks can be of great help. Earlier this year self driving tourists reported suspicious signs to park authorities and they apprehended the poacher. We should not turn a blind eye to this and think it will never happen in your area…..It is already happening!!

Let’s keep our rhino safe

Grant

For more info go tohttp://www.savingrhinos.com and http://www.rhinoresourcecentre.com