The team works quickly. As soon as a rhino is safely sedated, they motor up a chainsaw and begin shearing off the animal’s signature horns. White flakes of keratin fly through the air like snow, littering the ground. When they power the chainsaw off, only stubs are left where the rhino’s horns used to be. […]
Tag: white rhino
Fake it till you save it? Synthetic animal parts pose a conservation conundrum
Twice a year, thousands of members of South Africa’s Nazareth Baptist Church clothe themselves in spots and walk to their holy grounds in KwaZulu-Natal province to take up a dance. Following the swell of horns and the pounding of a drum, more than 1,500 male dancers move together, their stamping feet and upraised arms swinging in […]
Meet ‘the girls’: the last two northern white rhinos on Earth – in pictures
Najin and Fatu are the only two rhinos of their species in existence. Jack Davison visited Ol Pejeta in Kenya to document a story that transcends tragedy. This article was first published by The Guardian on 10 February 2021. Lead Image: Here come the girls … Najin and Fatu. Photograph: Jack Davison. What you can […]
Trophy hunters killed one animal every three minutes over the last decade, damning study reveals, with creatures gunned down from helicopters
Bloodthirsty trophy-hunters are killing one animal every three minutes, a damning exposé of the industry has revealed. More than 1.7 million animals, including lions, elephants and endangered rhinos, have been slaughtered in the past decade, with wealthy hunters competing to kill the most highly prized creatures. The devastating figures have emerged in a book which highlights […]
Petition: Big Mammals Suffer Brain Damage in Captivity According to Research
Many animals, most notably big mammals, often exhibit signs of duress as a result of being held in zoos or aquariums. These activities can include behaving in an abnormally aggressive manner, pacing, or even engaging in self-destructive behaviors. One expert in this field is Shubhobroto Ghosh, the Wildlife Projects Manager for Animals in the Wild, […]
For two rhino species on brink of extinction, it’s collaboration vs. stonewalling
Fatu doesn’t seem to care about the carrot she’s been offered by her caretaker. She raises her enormous head and gives it a sniff before returning to what she was doing, which is nipping delicately at the dry, scraggly grass at her feet. A few yards away, her mother, Najin, is doing the same. “They’re […]
Rhinos Are Also Coronavirus Victims
As Africa’s national parks and game reserves have emptied of tourists and reduced ranger patrols amid the coronavirus pandemic, conservationists say a troubling trend has taken root. Opportunistic poachers, taking advantage of the lull, are maiming and killing rhinos and other endangered creatures in areas usually considered safe from such attacks ― and there are […]
Irish man faces US charges on trafficking rhino horns
A 30-year-old Limerick man has been extradited to the United States to face allegations of trafficking endangered rhino horns. John Slattery, of Old Barrack View, Fairhill, Rathkeale, Co Limerick,was arrested this morning and surrendered to the US Marshall Service at Dublin Airport. The US authorities sought his extradition to face charges of illegal wildlife trafficking […]