Rhinoceros Endangerment
There are five types of rhinoceros on Earth. They are the Indian, Sumatran, Javan, Black, and White rhinos. All five species of rhinos are very close to extinction. The rhino population made a rapid decrease in the 1970's when half of the world's rhinos disappeared. There are an estimated 10,500 rhinos left worldwide. Their endangerment was cause by several reasons. The Black Rhinoceros population had decreased 90 percent since 1970. There were approximately 65,000 black rhinos then and there are about 2,500 now. Unlike most large mammals, habitat loss has not been a significant factor in the decline of these rhinos. Rhino horns have always been thought to have great powers. In 5th century BC, a rhino horn was believed capable of rendering some poisons harmless. In other times and places, rhino horns were hung in a room where a woman was giving birth, believing it would ease her labor pains. Asians used rhino horns in traditional medicines for a thousand years without threatening the species' power. Most people think tha
Efforts have also focused on protecting the "desert-adapted' subspecies, Diceros bicornis bicornis, the majority of which survive only in Namibia. In order to keep the rhino's from going extinct, there are some major efforts being made. Throughout the 1990's, WWF also provided substantial support to Namibia's rhino conservation efforts. The cause was the soaring price of oil. t the decline of rhinos is because of poaching. But Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries are rich in oil, and prices for this "Black Gold" climbed dramatically in that decade due to a worldwide oil shortage. Hopefully, these efforts will help the rhino population grow back to the numbers they were in the 1960's. Human communities living in areas where rhino are found must be able to benefit from conservation efforts. This encourages the local people to protect the rhino. WWF believes that rhino conservation and management in Namibia has also benefited from ongoing efforts to ensure that the rural communities that share their land with these animals obtain direct and sustainable benefits from wildlife-based tourism. To secure what is the largest single population of black rhinos remaining on the continent, equipment and funds for ground and air surveillance have been made available to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism for work in Etosha National Park. Young men in the Arab country of Yemen covet rhino horns for elaborately carved dagger handles, symbols of wealth and status in that country. Also, people are being persuaded to stop using rhino horn for medicines and cultural purposes.
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Middle Eastern,
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