When US Person walked the dry bush veld of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe counting the ill-tempered black rhinoceros {Diceros bicornis} in the early 90's, rhinos in Africa were making a slow come back from years of intensive poaching. Once again in this century rhinos are being slaughtered for their horn as a result of increased demand in Asia. The 15 year high in the number of poached animals threatens to set back decades of intensive effort to restore healthy populations of rhino. An estimated three rhinoceroses were killed illegally each month in all of Africa during 2000-05 out of population of 18,000. Now twelve are poached monthly in South Africa and Zimbabwe alone according to conservation groups WWF and International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) which reported at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITIES) standing committee meeting in Geneva this month. There is growing evidence of an international criminal underground involving Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai nationals in the procurement and transportation of rhino horn out of Africa. Rhinoceros poaching is also on the rise in Asia itself. About ten have been poached in India and seven in Nepal out of a total population of 2,400. Almost all rhino species are on CITIES Appendix One which means any international trade in their parts is illegal. Together with increased demand for purported medicinal horn, lack of effective protection for the animals is a major factor threatening their survival. The situation is particularly dire in Zimbabwe where civil strife has effectively melted down the judicial system. A park ranger was acquitted recently despite overwhelming evidence of his illegally killing three rhinos. In September of 2008 a gang of four admitted killing 18 rhinos, but were also let go.
[photo: www.wildlifeextra.com]