The International Rhino Foundation has set an ambitious target of raising $10,000 on “Cinco de Rhino” — May 5^th — and you can help make it happen!

On May 5^th (or anytime!), set aside a moment to make a donation to International Rhino Foundation — or go all out and host a Cinco de Rhino party! (Check out what the International Rhino Keeper Association and San Diego Zoo Safari Park are doing for Cinco de Rhino!)

Hosting a Cinco de Rhino celebration is a fun way to raise money for rhinos, and IRF has posted a party guide with ideas and recipes on their website.

For your Cinco de Rhino party, you can set a fundraising goal and ask your friends to donate. You can send your party proceeds to IRF via their online donation form (or mail a check).

Every dollar makes a difference!

• $25 will provide four days of food and veterinary care for an orphaned baby rhino in Zimbabwe.
• $50 will employ an Indian rhino monitor for 2 weeks on anti-poaching and monitoring patrols.
• $100 will provide 1 week of food and veterinary care for a Sumatran rhino at the Sumatran rhino sanctuary.
• $500 will purchase a high-quality GPS unit for rangers in South Africa to help track rhinos and help fight poachers.

To learn more about the amazing work of the International Rhino Foundation, visit their website.

“Cinco de Rhino” image #1: Saving Rhinos. Additional materials supplied by International Rhino Foundation.

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. I am the Editor of Rhino Horn is Not Medicine and Project Pangolin, author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave, and the host of Behind the Schemes. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

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Is the attempt to gather support for a ‘legal’ trade in rhino horn a solution — or just a long-standing agenda?

Although the notion of “legalizing” the trade in rhino horn has recently been touted as a “solution” to the rhino crisis, it turns out that the same agenda was proposed 15 years ago — during a year when four rhinos were killed in South Africa.

At the Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES in 1997, South Africa’s pro-trade syndicate* (PTS) sought to expand its Southern white rhino trade from “international trade in live animals to appropriate and acceptable destinations and hunting trophies” to include rhinoceros “parts and derivatives”.

Despite trade in rhino horn being banned internationally in 1977 and China banning its use in traditional Chinese medicine in 1993, the PTS wanted to seek “support for open and transparent discussions with practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine concerning the possibility of a limited, tightly controlled trade in rhinoceros horn”, using the argument that this would “generate funds for conservation and reduce incentives for illegal trade”.

However, it was determined that South Africa lacked “adequate control mechanisms” for a legal trade — even at a time when illegal killing numbers were declining and continental rhino populations were rising.

Proposal rejected — twice

South Africa’s proposal was ultimately rejected at the 1997 Conference of the Parties, when it twice failed to gain the required two-thirds majority vote.

After losing in the initial standard vote (60 in favor, 32 against) , South African delegates then demanded a controversial “secret ballot” vote.

Ironically, the secret ballot resulted in 50 votes in favor and 48 against.

By 1998, the WWF determined that “the mid- to late-1990s have signalled a changing tide for Africa’s rhinos as poaching has notably declined.”

Same agenda, new name

The opposition towards South Africa’s 1997 proposal revealed concerns about the country’s ability to manage a legal trade and the potential effect that the additional market would have on other rhino range states.

These concerns included:

• The lack of adequate control mechanisms for a legal horn trade
• Annotating appendices
• Southern white rhino populations outside South Africa had not yet recovered to acceptable levels
• The potential for the amendment to undermine the progress made in reducing demand for rhino horn

The recent (2008 — 2012) escalation in rhino killings in South Africa seems to have resuscitated the PTS agenda, which they have renamed a “poaching solution”.

But several issues remain inadequately addressed by this scheme.

Let’s take a look.

Rhino horn laundering and stockpiles

South Africa currently has only a tenuous grasp (at best) on its existing legal trade in rhinos, as evidenced by the arrests of game farmers, professional hunters, veterinarians, and safari operators who have been caught abusing their privileges.

And while the tiresome call to sell South Africa’s private and state-owned rhino horn stockpiles is repeatedly dusted off and trotted out as a stopgap measure, the stockpile situation exemplifies a serious “lack of control mechanisms” — particularly regarding the private sector.

These suspicions seem to have cropped up thirteen years ago, when the issue was highlighted in a 1999 report from the IUCN African Rhino Specialist Group (AfrRSG).

Concern has also been expressed about the adequacy of the control and registration of horn stocks in South Africa, especially those in the private sector.

The nation’s CITES documentation shows that private stocks have been assessed for only four of nine provinces, with no information to date on those in the Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Western Cape, and Mpumalanga.

(Mpumalanga coincidentally is home to what has been called the world’s largest private collection of rhinoceroses.)

According to experts, these five provinces together hold some 20% of all privately owned rhinos in South Africa.

Two failed attempts to audit the privately owned stockpiles between 2007 and 2008 apparently ended in criminal investigations, according to the 2009 report on African rhinos to the CITES Secratariat.

While investigations following these audits are ongoing, it is not clear whether any legal action will result.

In 2009, the AfrRSG estimated that an average of at least 50 horns had been illegally sold into the black market every year since 2006.

That number is likely to have increased substantially since then and yet the amount of South Africa’s privately owned rhino horn stockpiles remain largely unknown even today.

Neighboring populations and Asian rhino species

The PTS consistently fails to address the impact that South Africa’s proposal would have on rhinos in other range states.

In fact, the existence of the three Asian species — greater one-horned, Javan, and Sumatran rhinos — is rarely, if ever, acknowledged by those who are seeking to legitimize South Africa’s role as a rhino horn supplier.

Asian rhino populations might not survive the onslaught of an even larger market for rhino horn.

For example, in the case of China’s continuing attempts to have its illegal tiger farms legitimized, expert opinion from the IUCN and SSC Cat Specialist Group concluded that “products from farmed animals as well as supply from wild populations are on the market [demonstrating] that in many cases demand for wild animals has increased rather than decreased”.

Commercial use of tiger products in China is only one threat to the survival of the tiger in the wild; but it carries a very high potential of negatively affecting the wild populations not only in China but, more importantly, in neighbouring countries, if it were to drive poaching and illegal trade.

It is noteworthy that a comprehensive report on the status of African and Asian rhinos prepared for CITES in 2009 confirmed that “trade developments in South Africa” were already stimulating the demand for rhino horn in traditional consumer states.

Whilst the impact on national rhino numbers is still minimal, rhino horn trade developments in South Africa have been the principal driving force behind the resurgent rhino horn trade in Asia, most notably in Viet Nam and, to a lesser extent, China.

Demand reduction

One of the first steps of demand reduction is awareness regarding the use of rhino horn in traditional Chinese medicine. Significant progress is being made in generating awareness and the mixed message of legal trade would undermine decades of efforts to educate end users and reduce demand for rhino horn.

Recognizing the link between rhino horn use and rhino killings, the President of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) and Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (CCAOM) released a statement in 2011 opposing the use of rhino horn in medicines.

In March 2012, the Vietnamese NGO Education for Nature-Vietnam launched a rhino horn trade awareness campaign which will produce two public service announcements for national TV. One PSA is targeted towards rhino horn consumers and the other towards rhino horn traffickers.

Health risks

Additionally, encouraging the use of rhino horn is harmful to people who would otherwise seek medical attention.

In 2011, a woman in Hanoi became sick after consuming a rhino horn mixture to treat a rash around her mouth. She reportedly paid a large sum of money for the “treatment” – and then ended up in Bach Mai Hospital when her symptoms worsened.

From CITES (CoP15 Doc. 45.1):

It is despicable that criminals are financially exploiting sufferers, and their relatives, at a time when they will be struggling to cope with distressing and sometimes terminal medical conditions.

It is deeply troubling that potential health risks are discarded in favor of financial gain.

(A 2001 survey of private rhino owners published in Pachyderm found that “financial benefits rather than conservation principles appeared to drive white rhino management” and 79 percent of the respondents were “keen” to sell their rhino horn stockpiles. It seems little has changed during the past 11 years.)

Motivation?

While improved (radically improved) measures for rhino trade monitoring and stockpile management would be most welcome (and long overdue), it seems there is interest in such improvements only as it relates to the PTS agenda.

Indeed, this observation was made at a workshop facilitated by the Endangered Wildlife Trust in March 2011.

Concern was however raised by some conservation NGOs that the only reason there is a call to put systems in place is in order to legalise trade and that these measures should be implemented regardless of a legalised trade being assured or not.

Rhino numbers rising

The PTS and their supporters would like the public to believe that if we do not accept their plan, rhinos will go extinct.

However, since the ban on rhino horn trade has been enacted, African rhino populations have increased overall.

If there is anything positive to come of this crisis, then perhaps it is that South Africa’s bad apples, dirty players, and rhino horn dealers are being rooted out, identified — and hopefully, punished to the full extent of the law.

Co-authored with Sarah Pappin.

*The group lobbying for legalized horn trade (along with similar bodies pushing for legalized ivory trade and whaling) in 1997 was dubbed the “pro-trade syndicate” (PTS) in a media briefing paper by Greenpeace: It is often hard to tell what groups and individuals are behind the (nominally) non-governmental pro-trade lobby. By using legitimate arguments about the need for poorer countries with many wildlife species to conserve their wildlife in ways that involve and work for local people, they cloak their profit-centred agenda for trade liberalisation.

Sources:

Dublin, H. and A. Wilson. 1998. “The Fight for Survival: Four Decades of Conserving Africa’s Rhinos,” WWF International, Gland, Switzerland.

T. Milliken, et al. “African and Asian rhinoceroses — Status, Conservation, and Trade.” A report from the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN/SSC) African and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups and TRAFFIC to the CITES Secretariat pursuant to Resolution Conf. 9.14 (Rev. CoP14) and Decision 14.89, November 2009.

Castley, J.G. and A.J. Hall-Martin. “The status of the southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) on private land in South Africa in 2001.” Pachyderm No. 34. January — June 2003.

“Cat Specialist Group opinion to China’s domestic tiger trade policy review.” IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group (2007)

“Perspectives on Dehorning & Legalised Trade in Rhino Horn as Tools to Combat Rhino Poaching.” 1 – 3 March 2011. Workshop Report. Convened by Endangered Wildlife Trust. Sponsored by The South African Mint Company.

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. I am the Editor of Rhino Horn is Not Medicine and Project Pangolin, author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave, and the host of Behind the Schemes. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

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See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Check out this opportunity to learn about the amazing and threatened species of Southeast Asia.

The UK’s Chester Zoo is organizing a day of talks, films and discussions about the threatened species of Southeast Asia — including the Sumatran rhino.

On April 28^th, “Southeast Asia: Threats, Challenges and Successes” brings together experts from around the world to discuss a variety of Southeast Asian conservation topics.

The event is a fundraiser for the EAZA/IUCN/SSC Southeast Asia Campaign.

Among the presenters is Cathy Dean, Director of Save the Rhino International. She will be giving a talk about Sumatran Rhino conservation.

“Southeast Asia: Threats, Challenges and Successes” speakers and topics:

• Celebrity guest host TV wildlife presenter and veterinary surgeon Steve Leonard
• Cathy Dean, Director of Save the Rhino International: Sumatran Rhino conservation
• Nick Garbutt, professional photographer, author and expedition leader
• Vincent Nijman, Oxford Brookes University: expert on illegal wildlife trade in Southeast Asia
• Simon Hedges from the Wildlife Conservation Society: Securing human-elephant coexistence in Southeast Asia
• Chester Zoo’s animal teams working with Southeast Asian species

Due to the popularity of this event, advanced booking is required. Book tickets by calling 01244 650 240.

For more information about “Southeast Asia: Threats, Challenges and Successes”, contact conservation [at] chesterzoo [dot] org and check the Chester Zoo website for updates.

Connect with the Southeast Asia Campaign on Facebook.

Image provided by Chester Zoo.

Staff Writer

Saving Rhinos website: savingrhinos.org | Blog: Rhino Horn is NOT Medicine | Web series and podcast: Behind the Schemes | World Rhino Day: worldrhinoday.org |

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Check out the first episode of our new web series, Behind the Schemes.

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Bill Konstant, Program Officer at the International Rhino Foundation. Listen to this exclusive interview to learn all about the “State of the Sumatran Rhino”, which is also the first episode of our new web series, Behind the Schemes.

‘State of the Sumatran Rhino’

Listen to the interview here:

Read the State of the Sumatran Rhino interview here:

RCL: What is the current estimated population of Sumatran rhinos?

BK: Probably no more than 200 animals, which is a rough estimate – difficult to verify – but probably close enough to cause real concern for the survival of this species. Sumatran rhinos tend to be solitary, secretive creatures, very rarely seen even by the people who study and protect them, so the evidence we have of their presence is often indirect. However, the remaining populations are both small and scattered, which presents significant problems for trying to rebuild their numbers to sustainable levels.

RCL: Javan rhinos have fewer than 50 individuals left, but are Sumatran rhinos considered to be in more immediate danger of extinction?

BK: It’s really a difficult assessment to make. With less than 50 animals remaining on the planet, it can be argued that the Javan rhino is in a more precarious situation than the Sumatran rhino, but neither is good by any stretch of the imagination. If you focus on the rate of decline over the last two decades, the situation for the Sumatran rhino would appear more critical. However, for the Javan rhino it’s a classic “all your eggs in one basket” situation. The last population – the final stronghold for the species – is confined to a tiny area at the tip of an island, well within the range of a potential volcanic eruption … shades of Krakatoa! For both species, the low total population numbers also reflect a very low number of reproductive units, only a handful of mature females available to a handful of mature males, and with the chances of them meeting and mating correspondingly reduced. That’s what makes it important to integrate protection measures with captive breeding initiatives.

RCL: Have there been any known Sumatran rhino births in the wild in the last five years? Are there camera traps? How many rhinos are in these “fragmented pockets”?

BK: To your first question, yes, births of wild Sumatran rhinos over the last five years have been documented, but by multiple sets of footprints of mothers with calves and not by camera-trap photos or videos. There are a number of recent images taken of adult Sumatran rhinos on Sumatra, which confirms their presence at specific locations, but I don’t know of any of mothers with young. Interestingly enough, there are good images of Javan rhinos with young taken at Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park. These confirm reports of successful breeding by researchers and anti-poaching patrols that were based on evidence provided by footprints – mother and young walking the same forest trails.

Camera-traps help biologists estimate populations of cryptic species like the Sumatran rhino. Population estimates or ranges derived from camera-trapping studies are based upon a relatively small sample size, the data compiled from strategic locations and applied to a broader area. Combined with other indirect evidence, however, these studies can give us a good idea of how many animals are present within a defined area. So, based on all available information, field biologists estimate that there are probably no more than 200 Sumatran rhinos remaining in approximately four fragmented forest pockets on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Whether any remnant populations survive on mainland Southeast Asia is doubtful, but still bears investigation.

RCL: How many Sumatran rhinos are in Indonesia and how many in Malaysia?

BK: According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, a database used by conservation biologists around the world, the overwhelming bulk of the world’s remaining Sumatran rhinos, between 135 – 185 individuals, are found in three Indonesian national parks: Gunung Leuser, Bukit Barisan Selatan and Way Kambas. A relative handful – perhaps 20 to 30 – appears to be holding on within the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo.  

RCL: Does each country have its own subspecies?

BK: Essentially, yes. The Latin name for the Sumatran rhino is Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, which translates literally as the “two-horned rhinoceros from the region of Sumatra”. Three subspecies are recognized. The most northern subspecies, which occurred on mainland Asia and ranged all the way to Nepal and northern India, was called lasiotis, but it is now believed to be extinct. The subspecies known as harrissoni is endemic to the island of Borneo and is the one documented from Malaysia, but some animals may still be found across the border with Indonesia in Kalimantan. The animals on Sumatra belong, as you might expect, to the subspecies called sumatrensis.

RCL: Sumatran rhinos face both the threat of being killed for their horns and destruction of their rainforest habitat. Are both of these issues weighted equally?

BK: That’s a tough question, but I would have to say yes. At this time, Indonesia’s remaining Sumatran rhino populations are under heavy protection by anti-poaching patrols, which help to prevent the killing of rhinos, elephants, tigers and other threatened wildlife species. If that protection didn’t exist, I think it would be safe to say that the species might have already been driven over the brink to extinction. There’s absolutely no future for Sumatran rhinos without round-the-clock measures to protect them from poaching, which can very quickly decimate entire populations, as we’re now witnessing with Africa’s black and white rhinos. Having acknowledged that, the current status of the Sumatran rhino is equally attributable to decades and centuries of tropical forest loss and the relentless encroachment on its increasingly fragmented habitat by a burgeoning human population. The situation now exists that the last individuals of this species can only be found in national parks and sanctuaries that officially protected from exploitation by our own species.

RCL: Can you tell us what International Rhino Foundation is doing to protect Sumatran rhinos and help increase their population?

BK: The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) works very closely with Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry and our local partners YABI (Yayasan Badak Indonesia) to help save Sumatran rhinos. Thanks to the generosity of many people around the world, IRF is able to support Rhino Protection Units – what we refer to as RPUs – in two of the Indonesian national parks I mentioned earlier: Bukit Barisan Selatan and Way Kambas. We also support protection for the last remaining Javan rhinos in Ujung Kulon National Park. These efforts help to stabilize and potentially increase wild populations.

In addition, IRF supports the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, a 250-acre captive breeding facility situated in Way Kambas National Park, where we are hoping to witness the first-ever captive birth of a Sumatran rhino in Indonesia within the next few months. Several years ago, a young male rhino by the name of Andalas, born at the Cincinnati Zoo here in the United States, was sent to the sanctuary in hopes that he might breed with one or more of the three females in residence – Bina, Rosa and Ratu – all of which came from the wild. Well, Anadalas has not disappointed us. He and Ratu bred in March of last year and she is now completing the 12th month of a projected 15- to 16-month pregnancy, as your audience can read about on your website. Despite early miscarriages that resulted from the couple’s last two attempts at mating, all signs are positive at this point, Ratu is in the home stretch and we’re cautiously optimistic that she will deliver a healthy calf sometime later this spring or early this summer. This would be a historic first for the program and a success for what has become an international effort to save this critically endangered species.

RCL: What can people do to support International Rhino Foundation’s efforts to prevent the extinction of Sumatran rhinos?

BK: That’s an easy one. Anyone can help Sumatran rhinos by making a contribution to IRF, which can be used to support Rhino Protection Units in the field, captive breeding programs at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, or both. If folks want to help, I invite them to visit our website, www.rhinos-irf.org, and make a donation. They can help by adopting Andalas, Bina, Rosa or Ratu. I also invite them to learn more about what IRF is doing to help save the world’s other rhino species in Africa and Asia. Rhinos are among the world’s most critically endangered species and it is going to take a global effort to save them, so there’s room for everyone to get involved.

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. I am the Editor of Rhino Horn is Not Medicine and Project Pangolin, author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave, and the host of Behind the Schemes. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

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See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Wonderful news from Indonesia!

A bundle of joy could be arriving soon at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Indonesia’s Way Kambas National Park: Ratu is now just a few months away from giving birth!

The baby’s father is world-famous Andalas, who was born at the Cincinnati Zoo, and later moved to the 250-acre Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in 2007, where he resides with Ratu and two other females, Rosa and Bina.

This pregnancy is the third for Ratu, whose previous attempts unfortunately ended in early miscarriages. She has just completed her eleventh month; rhino pregnancies last 15 — 16 months.

Ratu is receiving a daily hormone supplement, which was also prescribed to Andalas’s mother, Emi, after she miscarried. The dosage and protocol is provided by Sumatran rhino expert Dr. Terri Roth, director of Cincinnati Zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife and vice president for International Rhino Foundation’s Asia programs.

Weekly weigh-ins and regular ultrasound exams are administered to the mother-to-be by Dr. Dedi Candra.

Executive director of the International Rhino Foundation, Dr. Susie Ellis, is hopeful about Ratu’s pregnancy.

We’ve got fingers crossed that everything will continue to go well and that Ratu will deliver a healthy baby sometime in late spring or early summer. This is truly a dedicated team effort, not just with regard to managing a critical pregnancy, but also in terms of the round-the-clock effort to protect Indonesia’s last remaining wild Sumatran rhinos.

We couldn’t hope to accomplish either without the generous support we receive from concerned people all over the world.

Here’s Andalas nudging Ratu:

Sumatran rhinos face multiple threats

Sumatran rhinos are classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, with fewer than 200 individuals surviving in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Like all rhino species, the Sumatran rhino faces the ever-present danger of being killed for unproven rhino horn remedies.

Tragically, Vietnam’s rhino population was declared extinct last year. The last individual was shot and killed, thanks to wild claims of rhino horn’s magical curative properties — claims which actually have no scientific basis.

In addition to rhino horn myths, Sumatran rhinos are gravely threatened by the continued destruction of their tropical forest habitat. Particularly notorious is paper giant Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), which has even gone as far to include Javan rhinos in their greenwashing attempts.

Every Sumatran rhino birth — in the wild, in a zoo or in a special sanctuary — represents hope for the survival of this species, which runs the risk of going extinct by the end of this century.

How to help Sumatran rhinos

The International Rhino Foundation, through its on-the-ground partner, the Rhino Foundation of Indonesia, funds the operation of the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary and supports Rhino Protection Units that safeguard the last remaining wild populations of Sumatran and Javan rhinos.

To help support the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, visit the International Rhino Foundation.

Photos courtesy © International Rhino Foundation (IRF)

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. I am the Editor of Rhino Horn is Not Medicine and Project Pangolin, author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave, and the host of Behind the Schemes. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

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See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

The recent capture of a female Borneo rhino may help save the species.

Experts are hoping that the recent capture of an extremely rare subspecies of Sumatran rhino can save these ancient mammals from extinction.

Fewer than 200 Sumatran rhinos are left on Earth, and only 40 of these are of the subspecies Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni, also known as the Borneo rhino.

Of these 40 or so individuals, just a few are believed to be breeding females.

Puntung and Tam

Puntung, a female Borneo rhino, was captured on Christmas Day 2011 and is estimated to be between 10 and 12 years old.

Veterinarians at Malaysia’s Borneo Rhino Sanctuary are hoping to introduce her to 20-year-old Tam, a male Borneo rhino residing at the Sanctuary. The average life span is between 30 and 40 years.

At the moment, the two rhinos are in neighboring enclosures. The introduction will take place in several months, and in the meantime, Puntung seems to be adjusting to her new environment and consuming more than 60 kg (132 lb) of leaves every day.

The Borneo rhino is the world’s smallest rhino species, weighing 500 to 600 kg (1,100 to 1,322 lb) and standing around 1.3 metres tall (4.3 feet).

Video of Puntung and Tam at the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary:

How to help

To find out how you can help Borneo rhinos, check out the Borneo Rhino Alliance — and you can also see more photos of Puntung and Tam.

Video via Reuters.

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. I am the Editor of Rhino Horn is Not Medicine and Project Pangolin, author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave, and the host of Behind the Schemes. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

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See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Syndicated via Planetsave.

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. I am the Editor of Rhino Horn is Not Medicine and Project Pangolin, author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave, and the host of Behind the Schemes. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Exciting news from Australia!

The Asian Rhino Project website has a fabulous new look!

Earlier this month, the Asian Rhino Project (ARP) rolled out a newly re-designed website and logo.

The design is quite pleasing: The new colors are earthy, yet modern – and there are several photos of all three of these lesser-know rhino species. Large, beautiful photos in the home page banner roll from one species to the next, so each one receives a turn at front and center.

Most importantly, there is plenty of information about getting involved: No matter where you are in the world, you can help Asian rhinos!

Please take a tour of the ARP website at asianrhinos.org.au and learn more about how you can help the three Asian rhino species:

• Greater one-horned (Indian) rhino population: 2,949
• Sumatran rhino population: About 200
• Javan rhino population: Fewer than 50

About the Asian Rhino Project

The Asian Rhino Project (ARP) is an Australian non-profit, volunteer organization raising awareness and support for the three Asian rhino species: Greater one-horned (Indian), Javan, and Sumatran rhinos.

The Asian Rhino Project raises funds from donors, corporate sponsors and memberships, merchandise sales, events, and educational programs. Contributions to in-situ programs are made through partnerships formed with conservation organizations in the field.

Donations to the Asian Rhino Project over $2 are tax deductible and 100% of these funds are directly committed to the conservation of this flagship species.

Learn more:

• Asian Rhino Project website
• Asian Rhino Project Facebook® page

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. I am the Editor of Rhino Horn is Not Medicine and Project Pangolin, author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave, and the host of Behind the Schemes. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

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See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

More rhino t-shirt designs!

Since 2007, we’ve been offering a wide selection of rhino t-shirts and other merchandise, and one of the most popular t-shirt designs has consistently been our “horny is good” t-shirt. People seem to have fun with this message.

This year – just in time for the holidays – those who enjoy the “horny” double entendre are in for a treat: We’ve just added a new online store called Horny Forever.

Horny Forever features designs that are geared towards adults. (Those of you with an eye for detail might have noticed a slightly different version of the Saving Rhinos logo – more on that later.)

Six ‘horny rhino’ designs

As of this writing, there are six designs (including the original “horny is good“), with more in this week’s pipeline.

In addition to the Horny Forever logo, there is “Big & Horny” (a white rhino) and another called “Making Baby Rhinos” that is simply an illustration of two rhinos (making a baby rhino). “Have a horny day!” is a simple twist on a classic design.

And then there’s just “HORNY” which sports a golden rhino with plum lettering.

Visit both stores:

• Horny Forever – let’s keep rhinos horny forever!
• Main store – home of the “Rhino horn is NOT medicine” t-shirts

Please note: Merchandise is available for online ordering only; international shipping is available.

Rhinos in Nepal

We contribute a portion of our t-shirt proceeds to Partnership for Rhino Conservation (PARC/Nepal) and have been doing so since 2009.

The funds help pay for printing educational materials and sponsoring public awareness events that directly impact the people living side-by-side with the greater one-horned rhino in the Chitwan National Park buffer zone. In addition, we promote PARC’s efforts on our social media platforms.

Find out more about the public awareness activities we have helped support at Update from Nepal: A Successful Year of Raising Public Awareness About Rhino Conservation.

About Saving Rhinos

Saving Rhinos LLC is mostly a self-funded endeavor, and is not a charity or nonprofit, and does not accept donations. I also work behind the scenes to provide subject matter expertise to select NGOs and verifiable media sources.

© Saving Rhinos LLC

Image: © Saving Rhinos LLC

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. I am the Editor of Rhino Horn is Not Medicine and Project Pangolin, author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave, and the host of Behind the Schemes. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

The latest fact sheets are ready!

Our popular Rhino Species Fact Sheets are now updated and ready to download! Each rhino species has its own fact sheet.

The Rhino Species Fact Sheets were first published in 2009, updated in 2010, and have since been downloaded by people all over the world. The 2011 population figures are based on information provided at the International Rhino Keeper Association Workshop, which was held in May 2011.

Enjoy!

Download the Rhino Species Fact Sheets

• Black Rhino fact sheet
• Indian (Greater One-Horned) Rhino fact sheet
• Javan Rhino fact sheet
• Sumatran Rhino fact sheet
• White Rhino fact sheet

For additional free public awareness and learning tools, please visit the Saving Rhinos downloads page.

Image: © Saving Rhinos LLC

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. I am the Editor of Rhino Horn is Not Medicine and Project Pangolin, author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave, and the host of Behind the Schemes. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.