The rhinos in choked desolation
After reading an article posted on the internet (I will come back to this one), I felt inclined to also shed a few words on this heartbreaking topic. I’m pretty sure that many of you have also read about the decline in rhino numbers and might have felt the sadness shrouding your heart. It certainly did it for me. The photos on this page have been taken at a zoo in Asia by someone very close to me and this person no longer wishes to go to zoos because of the sadness which I have mentioned. These animals do not look happy, they seem to be utterly depressed.
Back to the article… The post I read was made by SAPeople on Feb 21, 2017. Poachers have had the audacity to attack the Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage in Empangeni, South Africa. I mean, how greedy and desperate must you be to even attempt something as disturbing as this. Is the glutton for money the only driving force behind these despicable acts? An then came the proposed regulation to allow rhino horn trade and export in South Africa. The Humane Society International reveals that it could certainly escalate the crisis to the next level. A similar case also proposed by Swaziland but was rejected by the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) not too long ago discussed in an article by Peter Knights for WildAid.
Well, I’ll try to keep it as short as possible and let the numbers do the rest of the talking. Graph 1 below is presentation of the recorded information regarding only rhinos in South Africa. Graph 2 shows what is happening in India. Now these are only two places. The situation is the same in other countries (including Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Sumatra, etc.) where these majestic animals roam. We can also start another gloomy discussion about the elephants. There are surely numerous cases that have not been recorded; a very sad story indeed.
Graph 1 showing South African rhino poaching statistics using data published by South African Department of Environmental Affairs (2016) and the Rhino Poaching Statistics Analysis App, created by RIC Consulting for StopRhinoPoaching.com (2017).
Graph 2 shows Indian rhino poaching statistics using data published by Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), 2015 and BBC News 2015-April 2016.
I hope that the little which I have shared with you have stirred something inside of you, something that will encourage you to help out those amazing creatures that we are supposed to share our world with. We need to stand together to help those who cannot help themselves. We, the humans that are populating this planet, are slowly changing a beautiful planet into something that we will regret, I bet, in the not so distant future. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. I will surely continue to shed more light on this scandalous topic. Let’s gather and help make a difference! Let’s get out there! If you want to get involved, here are a few organizations that will surely benefit from your participation:
www.tusk.org
www.wild.org
www.oscap.co.za
www.sanparks.org
www.worldwildlife.org
www.poachingfacts.org
www.savetherhino.org
www.rhinodrone.co.za
www.wpsi-india.org
www.careforwild.co.za
www.thulathularhinofund.org
www.invisiblechildren.com
www.unitedforwildlife.org
www.stoprhinopoaching.com
www.therhinoorphanage.co.za
www.worldanimalprotection.org
www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org
www.theaustralianrhinoproject.org
www.wildheartwildlifefoundation.org