Saving Rhinos on Our Savanna

Black Rhino

saving rhinos

ON OUR SAVANNA

Dr. James Danoff-Burg, Director of Conservation

As we get closer to opening our new Rhino Savanna habitat, it is important to share how having rhino on our grounds furthers the conservation of rhino in Africa. The connection is much more direct than it may seem at first glance! But first, we must delve into the challenges that are facing rhino, as they help us determine how we must move forward.

Five Species – One Major Threat

The world’s five rhino species are in trouble, with three of the species recognized as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Their main threat? Humans. Poachers who brutally butcher the still-living animal for their horn imperil all five of these rhino species – from the savannas of Africa to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. The demand for rhino horn is intense, as it is thought to be of "medicinal value" for a great diversity of ills. However, none of these "perceived medicinal values" has ever been supported by reliable medical research. In fact, rhino horn is made of keratin, the same as that of our fingernails, and equally not valuable for curing health woes. The illegal trade of rhino horn around the world has driven these species to near-extinction. Rhino horn is more valuable by weight than gold, diamonds, or cocaine. The massive demand, high price, and illegality means that the only people who are selling or moving rhino horn internationally are criminals. Rhino horn is trafficked in the same way, and often in the same shipments, as guns, drugs, and human trafficking. Three countries have the dubious honor of purchasing the greatest amount of illegal rhino horn – Vietnam, China, and the USA. In the United States, it is the large port cities that have the greatest demands, with Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle-Tacoma, and New York being where most trafficking confiscations occur. Fortunately for The Living Desert, we are perfectly located in Southern California to work with our visitors to take actions to stop this terrible enterprise.

Black Rhino

Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit

Of the five species of rhino, two are historically native to Africa – white and black rhino. The other three species (greater one-horned, Sumatran, and Javan are native to Southeast Asia). Historically, "sport-hunting" by European colonialists was so extreme that by 1895 there were fewer than 50 white rhino left in Africa! More recently, however, the extreme level of poaching that has occurred has dramatically reduced the historical numbers of the five species – all due to the rise in demand for rhino horn. Until the 1970s there were over 100,000 black rhino across Africa. However, there are approximately only 18,000 white rhino and only 5,600 black rhino – across all of Sub-Saharan Africa, an area larger than North America, India, and Europe combined. Rhino poaching is a crisis that needs all of our help.

Saving Rhinos from Extinction

Fortunately, there are valiant efforts being conducted across Africa. By working with local communities to build support for the reintroduction of black rhino into areas where they have historically occurred, reintroduction efforts will be more successful. Some ways to work with local community that have been successful include having well-funded anti-poaching efforts employing local people as rangers, training local people on the use of novel technology to detect and stop poaching, aggressive local law enforcement approaches with serious consequences, and programs that involve local women as leaders in the antipoaching efforts. When these efforts are combined with education and behavioral change campaigns to help local people benefit from the presence of rhinos financially, everyone wins – and rhino in particular. The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens supports inthe-field rhino conservation in Africa by conducting research in support of the all-women Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit in South Africa to realize their greatest strengths. We help to increase local support for rhino conservation among local people in Africa. In addition, we evaluate how the Bush Babies Environmental Education Program, a sister program to the Black Mambas, can be most impactful. In Tanzania, we help design elementary school curriculum and evaluate programs to benefit Africa’s Giants, including rhino, with Wild Nature Institute. The Living Desert also helps further the black rhino range expansion project by supporting Ol Pejeta Wildlife Conservancy and Lewa Wildlife Conservancies (both in Kenya) and also Wild Nature Institute (Tanzania). Our Building Community Conservation

Bush Babies Environmental Education Program (Photo by Black Mamba APU)

Success (BCCS) social science workshop training program teaches rhino-focused conservation biologists how to best learn from and collaborate with local communities. As a result, they are better able to engage local communities in conservation and ensure that locals also benefit from conservation projects. The BCCS workshop teaches these innovative researchers how to best do so. Lastly, we have directly funded efforts by African Parks to reintroduce black rhino back into southern Chad in Zakouma National Park.

You Can Help Save the Chubby Unicorn

Closer to home, there is a lot that we all can do to help rhino conservation. As The Living Desert prepares to welcome a breeding pair of black rhino later this year, we are so excited to welcome you to visit. Research shows that seeing impressive and amazing animals, like rhino, up close and personal leads to empathy among zoo-goers. It has also been well documented that those who have empathy for other species are much more likely to advocate for their conservation. We anticipate that those who come to The Living Desert and interact with these incredible rhinos will then become Agents of Conservation on their behalf! If you already have assumed the mantle as an Agent of Conservation, or if you do so after you interact with our soon-to-arrive rhinos, there is one incredibly important act that you can do right now to help rhino: Help us reduce demand for rhino horn in the United States, the third largest consumer of rhino horn in the entire world. The Coachella Valley is near to and is visited by many people from cities where rhino horn consumption is greatest along the West Coast and the Midwest. Whenever it is appropriate, please consider sharing this message with your neighbors and to strongly advocate against the use of rhino horn anywhere. You have the power to help rhino in Africa by helping to reduce the demand for their horn as an Agent of Conservation here in the United States! We can’t wait for you to see these incredible black rhinos very soon - marvel at their power, learn about the beauty of these majestic animals, and build empathy for these living works of art. Rhino need our help and you can contribute to their care in many ways. Your support of The Living Desert and our innovative conservation programs are saving species here in Southern California and around the world.