Additional details have emerged regarding 30 of the 100-plus live rhinos exported to China from South Africa.

According to South Africa’s Parliamentary Monitoring Group website, 30 live rhinos were exported from Limpopo Province to China between 2007 and 2011:

• 2007: 10 rhinos to Wei Feng Tian by De Cai International
• 2009: 2 rhinos to Thai Skin & Hide by Thaba Manzi Nature Reserve*
• 2011: 2 rhinos to Zheng Zhou Zoo by De Cai International
• 2011: 16 rhinos to Kunming Game Reserve by De Cai International

(“De Cai International” — 28 rhinos to China? And is something called “Thai Skin & Hide” really an appropriate destination for live rhinos?)

It is also interesting to note that in 2010, Chinese media reported the arrival of least 18 rhinos from South Africa. (18 is coincidentally the number of rhinos exported in 2011, according to the PMG.)

• June 2010: Twelve rhinos were apparently flown from Johannesburg to Guangzhou, after a stopover in Kuala Lumpur. Their final destination was said to be the Yunnan Wild Animal Park in Kunming, China. (See Chinese News Reports Arrival of 12 Rhinos From South Africa.)
• August 2010: A “breeding pair” of rhinos reportedly arrived at China’s Tianjin Zoo. (See Reports of More Rhinos Arriving in China from South Africa.)
• November 2010: The Yunnan Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau noted on their website that four white rhinos passed through the inspection center. The rhinos were said to have been imported from South Africa by Shi Lin Longhui Wildlife Research Center Co., Ltd. (See Reports of More Rhinos Arriving in China from South Africa.)

Indeed, these decisions to export rhinos to China (a rhino horn consumer country) in the midst of the rhino crisis seem questionable.

But wait, there’s more.

Most recently, South Africa exported rhinos, lions and other wildlife to Dhaka Zoo in Bangladesh — despite the fact that 12 of the 27 animals South Africa sent to the same zoo in 2008 were dead within one year.

*Seven rhino horns were reportedly stolen in an armed robbery at Thaba Manzi in October 2010.

Image © iStockphoto.com

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.

Join the International Rhino Keeper Association and the keeper staff of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park for the third annual Cinco de Rhino!

Cinco de Mayo is the perfect time to learn more about the world’s five rhino species: Sumatran, white, black, Javan, and greater one-horned rhinos!

The International Rhino Keeper Association and the keeper staff of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park are hosting a fundraiser called Cinco de Rhino, May 3^rd, 2012 at Hacienda de Vega, Escondido, CA.

Over 90% of the proceeds will support the International Rhino Foundation’s Rhino Protection Units.

Buy a wristband ticket for $5 entry and enjoy happy hour specials, auctions, raffles, and talking with the San Diego rhino keepers!

Prizes include specialty tours at the Safari Park, animal artwork, and more!

Only 200 wristbands will be sold and admission is limited to those 21 and over.

If you would like to attend the International Rhino Keeper Association/San Diego Zoo Safari Park Cinco de Rhino celebration and fundraiser, join the Cinco de Rhino event page on Facebook.

If you have questions about Cinco de Rhino, connect with the International Rhino Keeper Association page on Facebook.

And help spread the word with #cincoderhino2012 on Twitter!

Host a Cinco de Rhino party

Are you hosting a Cinco de Rhino party? Message the International Rhino Keeper Association via their Facebook page.

You can also help raise awareness by spreading the word in your community and on social media about the importance of protecting rhinos and their habitats.

Cinco de Rhino 2013

Next year’s International Rhino Keeper Association workshop will kick off with Cinco de Rhino 2013 — details to follow!

“Cinco de Rhino” image #1 © Saving Rhinos. All other images courtesy of International Rhino Keeper Association.

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.

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.

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

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.

Greed!

Why does the demand for rhino horn persist? After all, rhino horn has no proven medicinal value.

However, China (using rhinos imported from South Africa) is engaged in a profit-seeking scheme that depends on sick people using rhino horn instead of taking medicine.

Check out the ‘Bogus Medicine’ video:

Want more?

See “Revealed: China’s ‘Rhino Horn Cancer Treatment’ Scheme” — and be sure the read the timeline articles.

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 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.

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

An extremely disturbing incident.

Police in Guwahati have arrested a man identified as Chin Khansong after he sneaked into the Assam State Zoo with a .303 rifle, ammunition, an axe, and a machete. The suspect confessed he was planning to kill “as many rhinos as possible” in order to sell their horns.

Nine greater one-horned rhinos reside at the zoo.

According to the Hindustan Times, Khansong is from the Churachandpur district of Manipur.

He had apparently scaled the zoo’s wall during the night, hoping the facility would be empty during Magh Bihu (Assam’s harvest festival).

Last year, the Thoiry zoo and wildlife park near Paris placed its rhinos under camera surveillance for added security.

Tiger killed inside zoo

In August 2009, a Sumatran tiger was killed and skinned inside her enclosure at Rimbo Zoo in Indonesia.

The tiger’s skin, along with the various body parts in demand for traditional Chinese medicine, were taken from the tiger’s enclosure.

Two people identified as Akmamul Mukminin and Samsudin alias Udin Bolu were later arrested for killing the tiger. Samsudin was sentenced to 46 months in jail.

Photo © iStockphoto.com

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.

Four of the five rhino species all on one calendar!

The beautiful 2012 rhino calendar produced by International Rhino Keeper Association (IRKA) and the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) is now ready to order.

Photos were submitted by rhino enthusiasts from around the world, and the winning twelve were selected by vote. In all, 77 participants submitted a total of 271 photos, and 4,090 votes were cast.

The calendars are being sold for US $26 each. Funds will be used to help purchase supplies for rhino protection units in Zimbabwe and South Africa:

• Digital cameras
• Tamper proof evidence bags
• PDAs
• Metal detectors
• Shoes
• GPS
• Binoculars

These supplies will help increase effective protection of rhino populations, help ensure successful prosecutions of wildlife crimes, and contribute to collection of crime evidence when rhinos are killed, specifically in selected areas of Zimbabwe and South Africa.

To purchase your calendar, please see the IRKA/IRF Calendar Fundraiser page on the IRKA website here.

Image via International Rhino Keeper Association at rhinokeeperassociation.org

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.

Big plans in the Lone Star State!

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center will celebrate World Rhino Day by hosting an art contest for local schoolchildren, and selling the art on September 22^nd at Hollywood and Vine restaurant in Glen Rose. All proceeds from the art show and a portion of the proceeds from the dinners served on World Rhino Day will go to Fossil Rim’s rhino program!

Rhino art contest

The World Rhino Day Art Contest hosted by Fossil Rim Wildlife Center is open to students who attend Glen Rose ISD schools. Rhinos must be the most prominent part of the pictures!

There are four divisions in the art contest, determined by grade level. In each division, First, Second, and Third place will be awarded.

First prize in each division includes a one year membership to Fossil Rim for four people.

For all the details about the art contest, download the World Rhino Day Art Contest Rules and connect with Fossil Rim on Facebook®.

Find out more about World Rhino Day here.

Dinner and art sale

Submitted artwork will be on display on September 22^nd at Hollywood and Vine restaurant in Glen Rose. Contest winners will be announced at 7:30 pm.

All parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends are encouraged to come and enjoy the art exhibit and purchase your child’s picture. A special menu will be provided by Hollywood and Vine, and $1.00 from each meal purchased will be donated the rhino program at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center.

Connect with Hollywood and Vine on Facebook®.

About Fossil Rim Wildlife Center

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center has been involved regionally and globally since 1987 with the conservation of white rhinoceros, and since 1991 with black rhinoceros. Seven white rhinos and five black rhino calves have been born at Fossil Rim.

Fossil Rim is a founding member of the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) and an institutional supporter of the International Rhino Keepers Association (IRKA).

Adam Eyres, Fossil Rim hoofstock supervisor, is co-author of a number of publications about rhinos and was involved with the writing of the Rhino Husbandry Manual. Additionally, he is the White Rhino SSP (Species Survival Plan) Coordinator for North America.

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 wildlife conservation facility that specializes in captive-breeding programs for endangered and threatened animal species. Fossil Rim funds its award winning conservation efforts with tourism. The center manages over 50 species of wildlife including cheetah, rhinos, giraffe, wolves, zebra, and the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken. Fossil Rim offers a 9½ mile Scenic Wildlife Drive, unique Safari Camp lodging, guided tours, camps, Nature Store, and Café to visitors. For more information, call (254) 897-2960 or visit fossilrim.org.

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Photo & logo courtesy & © Fossil Rim Wildlife Center.

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.