WORLD RHINO DAY: AFRICA’S RHINO CONSERVATION IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS

• News & Highlights

I should be in South Africa today, celebrating World Rhino Day by watching vets notch little patterns onto the ears of a tranquilliser darted rhino.
Every cheetah sports a unique array of spots that differentiates them from others. Each zebra has distinctive, dazzling stripes. 
But individual rhinos have no distinguishing features, hence these man-made ear notches, uniquely patterned and registered, are used to help conservationists identify and monitor these beguiling behemoths of the bush in their relentless fight against poachers.  
 
Save the Rhino estimates that Africa’s critically endangered black rhinos now number between 5,366 and 5,627 while white rhinos, classed as near threatened, number between 17,212 and 18,915. 


Their horn, worth around US$65,000 per kilo on the black market, is a status symbol in Vietnam and China where it’s believed to heal ailments ranging from cancers to heavy hangovers. Yet it’s just keratin, like our fingernails, with no curative powers whatsoever.