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Young World
Rhino comeback
COMPILED BY R. KRITHIKA
Photo: AFP
Reason to cheer: Many more rhinos.
Those fighting to save rhinos have cause to cheer. The African black and white rhinos, poached almost to extinction in the 1990s, seem to have made a comeback. Killed mainly for their horns, which are used in traditional medicines in Asia, the rhino’s numbers have gone up from 8,466 white rhinos and 2,599 black ones in 1997 to 15,400 white ones and almost 4,000 black ones. Another reason for the declining numbers was habitat loss.
Petra Fleischer, of Save the Rhino International, told the website LiveScience.com, “It’s the combined effort of anti-poaching work and monitoring to get a better picture of populations, environmental education, government strategies and community involvement. International funding is important, too. It’s important to work with local communities to find opportunities for generating income through conservation, such as through tourism.” Apart from the African rhino, three species of Asian rhinoceros are also critically endangered.
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