A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Ceratotherium simum
To prevent poaching, in certain areas, rhinos have been tranquilized and their horns removed. Armed park rangers, particularly in South Africa, are also working on the front lines to combat poaching, sometimes killing poachers who are caught in the act. A recent spike in rhino killings has made conservationaists concerned about the future of rhino species. During 2011 448 rhino were killed for their horn in South Africa alone. The horn is incredibly valuable: an average sized horn can bring in much as a quarter of a million dollars in Vietnam and many rhino range States have stockpiles of rhino horn. Still, poaching is hitting record levels due to demands from China and Vietnam.
A countdown now estimates that we have 7 years left before the last Rhino is killed for its horn.
These guys where the cutest thing to see. Yes, this majestic dangerous animal can be cute. After their "mud bath" they were scratching their big bums on the tree bark... the WHOLE tree was shaking. Makes you realize the power of a rhino. Alas, these guys are not bullet proof...
Spotted on Nov 10, 2011
Submitted on Aug 4, 2012
6 Comments
The book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W.W. Denslow, differs a lot from the movie classic, and actually has a reference to rhinos.
Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion each get to meet the Wizard individually and he appears differently to each one of them. To Dorothy he appears as a huge head, to the Scarecrow as a beautiful woman, to the Lion as a great ball of fire, and to the Tin Man as a terrible beast. The beast is described as such, "It was nearly as big as an elephant, and the green throne seemed hardly strong enough to hold its weight. The Beast had a head like that of a rhinoceros, only there were five eyes in its face. There were five long arms growing out of its body and it also had five long, slim legs. Thick woolly hair covered every part of it, and a more dreadful-looking monster could not be imagined." Somehow, the five-eyed beast with the rhinoceros head never made it to the film version.
Thank you Stian, yes, this feeling is mutual. Human kind built a world around money, now we are all stuck, either working for it or killing rare animals for it.
I don't understand how people get them self to kill these fantastic animals... I wish i just could leave home and go to south africa to help save the rhinos..
Every 15 hours a Rhino is killed for its horn in South Africa.
Rhino poaching has increased dramatically in the last few years, with hundreds killed each year for their horns.
South Africa has seen a huge rise in poaching in the last few years, as the demand for rhino horn soars.
Almost 300 rhinos have been poached in South Africa since the start of the year. In 2011, 448 were killed.