Rhino Horn is NOT Medicine » extinct

Take Action to Protect the World’s Only Javan Rhinos

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:23:28 +0000

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James

There are fewer than 50 Javan rhinos left in the world and you can help protect them by supporting Operation Javan Rhino, a global partnership led by International Rhino Foundation and Save the Rhino International.

Javan rhinos at risk

With the recent extinction of the Javan rhino in Vietnam, there is only one population of Javan rhinos left on Earth.

All of them live in Ujung Kulon National Park on the island of Java, Indonesia.

The Javan rhino is at significant risk of extinction – one natural disaster or an introduced disease could be the end of this species forever.

But you can help prevent the extinction of Javan rhinos!

Operation Javan Rhino

Operation Javan Rhino is creating 4,000 hectares of expanded habitat for Javan rhinos in Ujung Kulon, to encourage population growth and establish a second “insurance” population of Javan rhinos at a separate site.

Here’s what Operation Javan Rhino is doing to make the new habitat suitable and safe for Javan rhinos:

Clearing the site for an electric fence and adjacent patrol road
Constructing a fence and small bridges
Planting rhino food plants and removing invasive species
Creating a water supply and salt-lick
Constructing new guard posts
Hiring and training more guards and other staff from local villages
Launching an education program for nearby communities

This immense project costs $650,000 – and $350,000 has already been raised. International Rhino Foundation and Save the Rhino International are asking for your help in raising the additional funds needed to prevent the extinction of the Javan rhino.

Please visit the International Rhino Foundation’s Operation Javan Rhino page to make your donation and learn more.

Sources: International Rhino Foundation and Save the Rhino International

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, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Extinction of Western Black Rhino Confirmed

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:13:07 +0000

“Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil.” – Elie Wiesel

In October 2011, the Vietnamese Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus) was declared extinct, and it was in July 2006 that the presumed extinction of the Western black rhino (Diceros bicornis longipes) was reported.

According to this year’s assessment from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species^TM, Diceros bicornis longipes is now gone forever.

Lack of political will

Both extinctions were preventable.

The WWF report “Extinction of the Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus)” indicated that there was a glaring lack of political will and very little, if any, accountability for the protection of this critically endangered species. (The world’s last Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus was found shot with her horn missing.)

Sadly, it is not at all surprising that the recently updated Diceros bicornis longipes page on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species^TM reads as follows:

Given the wildlife poaching taking place, lack of political will and conservation effort by Cameroon conservation authorities in the past, and increasing illegal demand for rhino horn and associated increased commercial rhino poaching in other range states, it is highly probable that this subspecies is now extinct.

Black rhinos have been classified as Critically Endangered since 1996, following an Endangered listing for at least ten years.

Between 1970 and 1993, the demand for rhino horn decimated the black rhino population from around 65,000 to fewer than 2,500.

Thanks to conservation efforts and the ban on rhino horn trade, there are now around 4,860 black rhinos, comprised of three subspecies:

South-western black rhino (Diceros bicornis bicornis)
Eastern black rhino (Diceros bicornis michaeli)
South-central black rhino (Diceros bicornis minor)

Regarding the Western black rhino (Diceros bicornis longipes), see also:

July 6, 2006: “West African Black Rhino Feared Extinct“
July 17, 2006: “West African black rhino may be extinct”
“Probable extinction of the western black rhino, Diceros bicornis longipes: 2006 survey in northern Cameroon” by Isabelle Lagrot, Jean-François Lagrot, Paul Bour (Pachyderm, No. 43, July – December 2007)

Image #2 by Ludovic Hirlimann from ‘s-Gravenhage, The Netherlands (Rhino) via Wikimedia Commons

Rhishja Cota-Larson

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

UK’s Chester Zoo Launches New Campaign to Protect Black Rhinos in Kenya and Tanzania

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 06:03:38 +0000

The Chester Zoo is helping critically endangered black rhinos in the wild.

A new campaign called Act for Wildlife has been launched by the UK’s Chester Zoo. The campaign is raising support and awareness for endangered species in the wild – including black rhinos.

Critically endangered black rhinos

In 1970, 65,000 black rhinos roamed the African continent. However, by 1993, the demand for illegal rhino horn decimated this species to just 2,300.

Conservation efforts have increased the critically endangered black rhino population to 4,860 today. Only three subspecies are surviving – the Southwestern, Southern central and the Eastern black rhino. Sadly, the Western black rhino subspecies is now believed to be extinct.

The Eastern black rhino subspecies (Diceros bicornis michaeli) is the least numerous of the three; only around 700 remain in the wild.

Most Eastern black rhinos are found in Kenya, with small populations in Tanzania and South Africa.

Conservation and communities

The Chester Zoo’s Eastern black rhino breeding program has been instrumental in the conservation of this species, and the Act for Wildlife campaign supports three projects to help protect black rhinos in the wild – two in Kenya and one in Tanzania.

Maasailand Preservation Trust in Chyulu Hills – Kenya
Laikipia Wildlife Forum – Kenya
George Adamson Wildlife Preservation Trust in Mkomazi National Park – Tanzania

Antony Kasanga, Information Officer for the Maasailand Preservation Trust and Field Co-ordinator for the Black Rhino project at Chyulu Hills, explains how the project is important to both rhinos and the local community.

We employ around 45 game scouts and rangers, all from the local Maasai communities. Our rhino rangers work alongside the Kenya Wildlife Service, to monitor and protect our rhinos as threats continue to increase.

The game scouts also have a huge role in protecting local habitat and wildlife. The area is a crucial water catchment for both people and wildlife, including elephant, cheetah, lion and African wild dog. Each year the game scouts confiscate hundreds of snares, arrows, spears and other tools used by poachers. They make around 800 arrests each year.

As the rhino crisis spreads across the African continent, Act for Wildlife works to protect rhinos by funding intensive anti-poaching activities and community education projects.

Working together is the only way we can make sure the black rhino is protected, and saved from extinction.

Learn more about the Chester Zoo’s Act for Wildlife campaign: Check out the Act for Wildlife website and Facebook® page to see how you can help.

Photos and Act for Wildlife logo courtesy of Michelle Duma, Chester Zoo

Rhishja Cota-Larson

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Uganda Welcomes First Female Rhino Baby in 30 Years

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 21:51:08 +0000

Horns up! It’s a girl!

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Uganda is celebrating the historic birth of the country’s first female rhino in 30 years. This is the second time mother “Nandi” has made history, as she gave birth in June 2009 to Uganda’s very first calf – named Obama – following the regional extinction of the species in 1982.

The new arrival is the fourth baby rhino born at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, after Obama, Augustus, and Justice.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and Rhino Fund Uganda are offering the opportunity to name the new baby, with bids starting at USD $3,000 for the privilege. Contact the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary here for details.

More babies are on the way, as two of Ziwa’s female rhinos are expected to give birth soon.

To learn more about Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, visit their website at rhinofund.org – and check out the cute baby rhino photos on the “Rhino Babies” page.

Congratulations to Nandi and Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary!

Photo of baby rhino “Obama” courtesy of Angie Genade, Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.

Rhishja Cota-Larson

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

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Only Seven Northern White Rhinos Survive After Death of ‘Nesari’

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 23:13:10 +0000

The world’s Northern white rhino population dwindles to just seven.

One of the world’s last known Northern white rhinos has died at Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic. The female rhino named “Nesari” was 39 years old.

Northern white rhinos are believed to be extinct in the wild, and Nesari’s death leaves just seven known survivors.

A lone female, “Nabire”, still resides at Dvůr Králové Zoo, while two are at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (formerly known as San Diego Wild Animal Park).

Read the entire article at White rhino dies in Czech zoo, seven left worldwide.

Dvůr Králové Zoo was home to six Northern white rhinos until December 2009, when Sudan, Suni, Najin, and Fatu were flown to Kenya in hopes of encouraging them to breed.

New hope for Northern white rhinos

In barely more than a year after their historic journey from the Czech Republic to Kenya, romance blossomed and Northern white rhino matings were confirmed.

The first mating was between Fatu and Suni (northern white on northern white). The second mating was Sudan – our oldest northern white male – with Aramiet (southern white female). To see the old boy has still “got it” is hugely encouraging and as we write this, he has his eye set on Taura, another one of the southern white female.

Learn more about Sudan, Suni, Najin, and Fatu:

There is even more Northern white rhino controversy at New Study Finds the Northern White Rhino is Actually a Sixth Rhino Species.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Rhishja Cota-Larson

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Beloved Sumatran Rhino ‘Torgamba’ Passes Away

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:42:43 +0000

The world has lost one of its few remaining Sumatran rhinos.

The International Rhino Foundation has sadly announced today that “Torgamba”, an elderly Sumatran rhino, died on Saturday at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Indonesia, following a lengthy illness.

Torgamba was estimated to be 32 years old.

Torgamba had been chronically ill for several years. During the last months of his life, the veterinarians and team at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary worked tirelessly to make Torgamba as comfortable as possible.

In 1985, Torgamba was rescued from a precarious existence in the wild to become part of an international program to study and breed Sumatran rhinos in captivity, in hopes of reinforcing the dwindling wild population.

Torgamba lived at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in England until 1998, when he was returned to Indonesia to live at the newly-opened Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park.

The Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, constructed by the International Rhino Foundation in partnership with the Indonesian government, allows the rhinos to reside in a 250-acre forest area where they can experience a natural habitat while still receiving state-of-the-art veterinary care and good nutrition.

Currently, four Sumatran rhinos reside at the Sanctuary: Captive-born Andalas, and three females – Bina, Rosa, and Ratu.

There are only around 200 Sumatran rhinos left on Earth. To learn more about how you can help Sumatran rhinos, check out the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary page on the International Rhino Foundation website.

Source & image: International Rhino Foundation

Rhishja Cota-Larson

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Rhino Horn Myths: Then and Now

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 22:19:56 +0000

The rhino horn intrigue continues.

For centuries, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners have touted rhino horn as a remedy for a wide array of maladies. These notions about rhino horn originated at a time when comparatively little was known about medical science – or wildlife.

Apparently, the rhino’s horn was a particularly intriguing protuberance.

Unusual beliefs about rhino horn

In the 1500′s, unusual beliefs about rhino horn were not limited to its alleged healing properties.

The following is from Bernard Read’s 1931 translation of Li Shih-chen’s 1597 materia medica Pen Ts’ao Kang Mu, as excerpted from Richard Ellis’ classic book Tiger Bone and Rhino Horn: The Destruction of Wildlife for Traditional Chinese Medicine:

The [horn] is hollow and the animal can breathe and squirt water through it … It is said to shed its horn each year, and bury it in the ground. If carefully replaced by wooden imitations 3 times, the animal will continue to plant its horn in the same place year after year.

However, despite the rhino’s “horn-planting” abilities, it is also noted that rhinoceros horn “from a freshly killed male” is preferred for medicinal use.

The same literature cites rhino horn as a cure for a seemingly endless list of conditions, including fevers, headaches, anxiety, rectal bleeding, smallpox, boils – and devil possession.

Contrary to popular belief, rhino horn is not used as an aphrodisiac in traditional Chinese medicine.

Rhino horn ‘remedies’ readily available

Of course, we now know that rhinos do not spout water from their horns or plant them in the ground.

Unfortunately, the belief that rhino horn has medicinal properties persists.

Rhino horn is still sold as a curative for just about everything imaginable, from treating acne to improving night vision.

Recently, however, a dangerous new element has been added to the rhino horn myth.

TCM websites claim rhino horn is a cancer treatment

Claims made by TCM websites such as buychinaherb.com maintain that rhino horn is a cancer treatment.

… reduce side effects due to chemotherapy and radiation therapy; to improve function of bone marrow in production of blood cells; to increase appetite, keep body weight.

Various cancer: it has been used in the treatment of breast cancer, cervical cancer, bladder cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, esophagus cancer, stomach cancer, thyroid cancer, colon cancer, leukemia, etc.

In this example, the “medicine” advertised as containing rhino horn is manufactured by Chinese pharmaceutical company Tong Ren Tang:

Another website claiming to be a “Chinese medicine dealing network” located at yaocai8.com offers rhino horn powder from Tianjin Pharmaceutical.

Who benefits from the notion that rhino horn is a cancer treatment or has any other medicinal effects? Certainly not the people who consume rhino horn.

Cultural or financial?

Recently, Treehugger.com argued that rhino conservation efforts are an “attack” on cultures that believe in rhino horn medicine.

Some practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believe that efforts to end the international trade of rhinoceros horn are, indeed, an affront to their culture.

But is sound medical knowledge being swept aside to appease cultural beliefs, or is the reluctance to acknowledge rhino horn analysis financially motivated?

After all, rhino horn is apparently able to command substantial prices. For example, it was reported earlier this year by Care for the Wild International and Wildlife Extra that rhino horn was indeed fetching outrageous sums of money.

Testing rhino horn

Rhino horn has indeed been thoroughly analyzed to determine its medical efficacy.

At least three studies were conducted by different teams of researchers at separate institutions.

In each case, the results were conclusive: There is no scientific evidence to support claims of rhino horn’s usefulness as a medicine.

According to researchers who conducted the rhino horn studies, consuming rhino horn has the same medicinal effect as chewing fingernails. (Read the entire article at Busting the Rhino Horn Myth with Science.)

Which is more profitable: The continued belief in rhino horn’s curative properties, or the truth about rhino horn?

Chinese pharmaceutical companies and South African rhino horn trade

A state-funded rhino horn research proposal from China published in 2008 advocates the breeding of “endangered medicinal-use animals” to meet the demands of an increasing population “without violating international convention”.

There is little doubt of plans to turn rhino farming – and the use of rhino horn – into a profitable enterprise. (Read the entire article at Chinese Researchers Hope to Turn Rhino Horn Cultivation into Thriving Enterprise While Avoiding CITES Scrutiny.)

And while the conservation community strives to educate rhino horn consumers and dampen the demand, some South African game farmers who have amassed private stockpiles of rhino horn are working in opposition to these efforts, hoping instead to turn rhino horn myths into financial magic.

Image #1 istockphoto.com; #2 & 3 TRAFFIC

Rhishja Cota-Larson

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Zimbabwe Down to its Last 700 Rhinos

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 23:10:10 +0000

Zimbabwe’s rhinos continue to struggle against the demand for rhino horn.

The rhino killing epidemic of Southern Africa has hit Zimbabwe hard, and it is now estimated that only around 700 rhinos remain in the country. Decades of rhino conservation are at serious risk of being undermined by crime syndicates funded by the demand for illegal rhino horn, which is still used in traditional Chinese medicines.

Last year, the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC found that Zimbabwe lost over 25 percent of its rhino population between 2006 and 2009 to illegal killing. This troubling figure includes 89 percent of all black rhinos killed on the continent.

The seriousness of the current situation in Zimbabwe is again evident in the fact that losses since 2006 represent 26% of the living rhino population, and 89% of all black rhinos killed in Africa since 2006.

Just a few days ago, another one of Zimbabwe’s critically endangered black rhino was brutally slaughtered as he drank from a watering hole.

Conservationists step up the fight against rampant rhino killings in Zimbabwe

Various tactics are being deployed, such as arming anti-poaching patrols in some areas with AK-47s and taking a hard line stance against heavily armed killers.

Zimbabwe’s rhino poachers use military-style organization and deadly force in their quest to gun down rhinos.

In Zimbabwe, where just 700 rhinos remain, anti-poaching units face military-like armed gangs who ruthlessly shoot the animals to hack off the distinctive horns for the Asian traditional medicine market.

Raoul du Toit of the Lowveld Rhino Trust, which operates in Zimbabwe’s arid southeast, said via AFP that these career criminals think nothing of killing the people who get in their way.

These poachers in this part of the world here will shoot on sight. They operate in very aggressive units.

They adopt patrol formations when they are after rhinos to detect any anti-poaching units that are deployed against them and they will open fire without hesitation.

He also explained that rhinos are being de-horned, in an effort to make them less attractive to the thugs on syndicate payrolls.

De-horning reduces the reward for the poacher. Poaching is a balance between reward and risk. It may tip the economic equation in the situation to one where it’s not worth the poacher operating.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is said to have a five-tonne stockpile of rhino horns in Harare, which raises additional concerns, stemming from allegations in 2008 that the Zimbabwe government traded 3.5 tonnes of stockpiled ivory for Chinese weapons.

It is hoped the tough anti-poaching stance combined with de-horning efforts will be enough to slow the losses.

Under its Crisis Zimbabwe program, US-based International Rhino Foundation translocated 22 rhinos from high-risk areas to safer, undisclosed locations in Zimbabwe in 2009.

Zimbabwe rhino killings aided by corruption

Zimbabwe’s escalating rhino losses prompted CITES to consider expelling the country last year, after an investigation found that political officials were involved in widespread killing of wildlife, especially in Gonarezhou and Hwange National Parks. The Times Live was just one of several sources which reported the scandal.

At a news conference in Harare, Willem Wijnstekers, secretary-general of the U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, said security forces had killed about 200 rhinos over the past two years, putting that population on the verge of extinction in Zimbabwe.

And according to allAfrica.com in July 2009, court documents implicating Zanu PF politicians went missing.

The two politicians have been saved from prosecution after the dockets “mysteriously disappeared” from the magistrates’ court recently. Judicial sources said yesterday the dockets were too hot to handle.

It was noted by TRAFFIC that Zimbabwe’s conviction rate for rhino-related crimes has been an abysmal three percent.

Illegal rhino horn smuggled to China and Vietnam

Rhino horn is in high demand for use in traditional medicines in China and Vietnam, despite the fact rhino horn has been extensively analyzed and contains no medicinal properties.

Research conducted by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC found that most rhino horns leaving southern Africa are being smuggled to China and Vietnam.

Sources: Zim Daily; Times Live; allAfrica.com; AFP

Image: istock.com

Rhishja Cota-Larson

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Help IRF Buy a Patrol Boat for Javan Rhino Anti-Poaching Units

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:57:17 +0000

Fewer than 50 Javan rhinos are still surviving – but you can help save them from extinction.

The International Rhino Foundation seeks your help in purchasing a new boat for its Rhino Protection Units (RPUs) in Ujung Kulon National Park, Indonesia. River patrols are a vital part of protecting Javan rhinos because most poachers and encroachers use the river to illegally access the park and its wildlife.

Ujung Kulon National Park: Home of the world’s last viable population of Javan rhinos

Javan rhinos have been hunted to near-extinction because their horns are considered an essential ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine – despite the fact that rhino horn has been extensively tested and actually contains no medicinal properties.

Sadly, these medicinal myths about rhino horn has placed all five rhino species in peril.

In addition, these shy rhinos have been forced into smaller and smaller areas by increasing human populations which continue to encroach on Javan rhino habitat.

Javan rhinos survive in part because of the efforts of the International Rhino Foundation’s courageous Rhino Protection Units (RPUs).

RPUs are elite anti-poaching teams, made of up local people from the villages surrounding Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia (home to the sole remaining viable population of Javan rhinos).

These brave and committed individuals leave their families behind and sometimes put their lives on the line to protect rhinos. They spend at least 15 days per month patrolling and camping in the forests, where they monitor rhinos, remove snares and traps that might injure them, and apprehend poachers and others committing illegal activities in the park.

A new boat for the RPUs is USD $10,000 – and one of IRF’s long-time donors has made an extremely generous pledge, and has issued a challenge.

Between now and October 31^st, every donation made for Operation Javan Rhino will be matched (up to $5,000) to help purchase a new boat for the RPUs. For example, if you give a donation of $5 today, it will be doubled to $10. A donation of $50 becomes $100.

To donate to International Rhino Foundation’s Operation Javan Rhino, click here.

Source: International Rhino Foundation

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Rhishja Cota-Larson

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Another Javan Rhino Found Dead in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park

Rhishja Cota-Larson — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:53:33 +0000

A second critically endangered Javan rhino has been found dead in Indonesia.

Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon Park has lost another of its critically endangered Javan rhinos.

Because the rhino’s horn was intact, the rhino is likely to have died from natural causes. The male rhino, believed to be about 30 years of age, was found dead in a river. Javan rhinos have a life span of 30 – 45 years.

Indonesian Rhino Foundation head Widodo Ramono said via The Jakarta Globe that fewer than 50 Javan rhinos remain in Ujung Kulon, the last known location of this critically endangered species (Rhinoceros sondaicus).

We have 40 to 50 rhinos here now. If two die, that’s four percent of the population.

There were no signs it had been killed by poachers as its horn was intact. It might have died of old age or illness. We’re still investigating the cause of death and checking if there are other carcasses in the area.

Plans are under way to establish a second habitat for Indonesia’s Javan rhinos, in hopes of encouraging breeding and expanding the population.

A Javan rhino subspecies (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus) – with a population of fewer than five individuals – hangs by a thread in Vietnam. Although these rhinos have not been seen by wildlife researchers for years – and the last known photo was taken by a camera trap, possibly in 2006 – poachers still managed to kill one and hack off the horn.

Superstitions about rhino horn driving rhinos to the edge of extinction

Javan rhinos – like all rhino species – are under tremendous threat from illegal killing, fueled by demand for rhino horn in east and southeast Asia. The latest research via the IUCN/SSC and TRAFFIC found that most rhino horn leaving Africa is destined for end-use markets in China and Vietnam.

Persistent superstitions in these regions attribute “healing powers” to rhino horn, despite the fact scientific analysis has confirmed rhino horn has no medicinal effect on humans.

Source: The Jakarta Globe

Photo via International Rhino Foundation

Rhishja Cota-Larson

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.