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View Full Version : How the fate of an entire sub-species of rhino was left to one elderly male



Captain Obvious
06-17-2015, 10:42 AM
Well, if the fate of mankind were left up to me, ladies - I would not let you down.

:biglaugh:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/world/2015/06/16/how-the-fate-of-an-entire-subspecies-of-rhino-was-left-to-one-elderly-male/


It’s not that Sudan didn’t want a baby. Researchers had watched the 42-year-old northern white rhinoceros try to mount a female. Rangers had seen him stare across the enclosure at the ladies “admiringly,” sharpening his horn like he was preparing to win them over.

But age had caught up with him. His hind legs were weak. The quality of his sperm was poor. And as the odds dimmed that he would mate successfully, conservationists had to reckon with their own failure.

ow had the fate of an entire subspecies of rhinoceros been left to one elderly male?



http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/wp-content/themes/wapo-blogs/inc/imrs.php?src=http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/world/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2015/06/lastrhino06.jpg&authapi-mob-redir=0&w=1200

Tricia
06-17-2015, 12:27 PM
Aww, poor old fella just wanted some lovin'. Even sharpened his horn. :(

GrassrootsConservative
06-17-2015, 12:34 PM
Aww, poor old fella just wanted some lovin'. Even sharpened his horn. :(

Didn't do a very good job, judging by the picture. Looks smooth and harmless.

PolWatch
06-17-2015, 12:35 PM
Its a shame that humans have nearly destroyed such a magnificent animal. Maybe they will be successful in the in-vitro program.

southwest88
06-17-2015, 02:47 PM
Didn't do a very good job, judging by the picture. Looks smooth and harmless.

If you look @ the caption on the 2nd picture @ the URL article - it notes that his horn was cut, to deter poachers. But it's since growing back, & will likely need to be trimmed again.

waltky
05-23-2016, 03:34 PM
Say what???...
http://www.politicalforum.com/images/smilies/icon_omg.gif
South African court gives green light to domestic trade in rhino horn
Tuesday 24th May, 2016 - Potential domestic buyers could include those who see rhino horn as a store of wealth that could appreciate in value and those who want it as a decoration.


South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal has dismissed a government bid to uphold a seven-year ban on the domestic trade in rhino horn, an industry group said on Monday (May 23). The decision has no bearing on a ban on international trade in rhino horn. Potential domestic buyers could include those who see rhino horn as a store of wealth that could appreciate in value and those who want it as a decoration. Thousands of South African rhinos have been slain in recent years to meet demand for the horn in Asian countries, where buyers consider it an aphrodisiac, a cure for cancer or treatment for hangovers. "Legal finality has now been achieved," Pelham Jones, chairman of South Africa's Private Rhino Owners Association (PROA), told Reuters, saying trade could resume this year.

Around 5,000 rhinos, or about a quarter of South Africa's population, are in private hands. Rhino horn can be harvested as it grows back and it can be removed from a tranquilized animal. The government has not revealed the size of its rhino horn stockpile but the PROA estimates its members have around 6 tonnes and reckons the state has close to 25 tonnes. The combined 31 tonnes could fetch US$2 billion by some estimates. A spokeswoman for South Africa's department of environmental affairs said it would comment later in the day on the ruling, which was made on Friday. It was not immediately clear if the department would now appeal to the Constitutional Court, the top court in the land. Supporters of rhino horn trade say the money earned could be used for conservation and to pay for security. Opponents counter that a legal trade could tempt poachers who kill rhinos to launder their "blood" horns with clean supplies.

The decision is a setback to government efforts to keep a lid on the domestic trade in rhino horn, which was imposed in 2009. It comes just months ahead of a major UN conference on wildlife trade that South Africa will host. The domestic trade ban was challenged by rhino owners in court last year and the moratorium was overturned. Both buyers and sellers of rhino horn in South Africa still need to apply for a permit, so that the government can keep tabs on the commodity. John Hume, the world's biggest rhino rancher who owns around 1,300 of the animals, said he was hoping to sell some of his stock of five tonnes. "We will certainly try and sell some rhino horn very shortly," he said.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/south-african-court-gives/2810248.html

See also:

India lion attacks: Pride caged after Gujarat killings
Mon, 23 May 2016 - Officials in the Indian state of Gujarat cage a pride of 13 lions after they kill and eat a teenager, the latest of three such deaths.


Forestry officials in India have caught and caged 13 Asiatic lions in western India after at least three people were killed by them. The pride of lions was rounded up after a teenager was dragged from his village, killed and partially eaten. Two other people have also been killed in the last two months, though officials say such attacks are rare. The Asiatic lions, classed as endangered, are amongst more than 500 who live in Gir forest in Gujarat.


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/3671/production/_89773931_gettyimages-133909638.jpg
Asiatic Lions lounge in the shade of a tree near the village of Sasan on the edge of Gir National Park

Gujarat's chief conservator of forests, J A Khan, said the lions were captured from an eastern part of the sanctuary, their last remaining natural habitat. "Lions that have preyed upon humans will be analysed in detail, while the rest will be slowly introduced back into the wild," Mr Khan told the AFP news agency. He added they would find the lions responsible for the killings by analysing their faeces for human tissue.

On Friday, a 14-year-old boy was dragged away by lions as he was sleeping in a mango orchard outside his home. His father was injured when he tried to stop the attack.In April, the lions killed a 50-year-old woman as she was asleep in a field, and a month earlier a 60-year-old was killed in his hut in the same village as the boy. The Asiatic lion was listed as endangered in 2008, an improvement on a critically endangered listing in 2000, after numbers increased in the forest.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-36362190

waltky
04-12-2017, 03:15 AM
51 kilograms of rhino horns valued at over $3M seized...
http://www.politicalwrinkles.com/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif
Malaysian Rhino Horn Seizure Worth Over $3 Million
April 10, 2017 - Malaysian customs officials said Monday they have confiscated 18 rhino horns, weighing more than 51 kilograms, and valued at over $3 million.


Customs said they found the horns in a crate Friday at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport cargo terminal after receiving an anonymous tip. The haul had been shipped from Mozambique via a Qatar Airways flight with false documentation, classifying the the horns as “obre de arte” — or work of art. Rhino horn global trade is banned under a United Nations convention.



https://gdb.voanews.com/A995401A-40FC-4F66-A8B4-A4283F9358F8_cx0_cy4_cw0_w1023_r1_s.jpg
Protected rhinos roam and feed in an enclosed precinct at the Kahya Ndlovu Lodge in Hoedspruit, in the Limpopo province of South Africa



Malaysian officials say the case is under investigation and no suspects have been arrested. Rhino horns have been used for centuries in traditional Asian medicine, but they have not been proven to cure any illnesses. The wild rhino population at the start of the 20th century was 500,000, but has since dwindled to 29,000.


http://www.voanews.com/a/seized-rhino-horns-worth-three-milion-dollars/3803671.html

waltky
03-20-2018, 01:50 PM
Last male white rhino dies...
:shocked:
Northern white rhino: Last male Sudan dies in Kenya
20 Mar.`18 - The world's last surviving male northern white rhino has died after months of poor health, his carers say.


Sudan, who was 45, lived at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. He was put to sleep on Monday after age-related complications worsened significantly. His death leaves only two females - his daughter and granddaughter - of the subspecies alive in the world. Hope for preserving the northern white rhino now lies in developing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) techniques. "His death is a cruel symbol of human disregard for nature and it saddened everyone who knew him," said Jan Stejskal, an official at Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic, where Sudan had lived until 2009. "But we should not give up," he added in quotes carried by AFP news agency. "We must take advantage of the unique situation in which cellular technologies are utilised for conservation of critically endangered species. It may sound unbelievable, but thanks to the newly developed techniques even Sudan could still have an offspring."


https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/07E3/production/_100491020_rhino_inf_640.png

Why is this kind of rhino so rare?

Rhinoceroses - of which there are five species - are the second-largest land mammal after elephants. The white rhinoceros consists of two sub-species: the southern white rhino and the much rarer and critically endangered northern white rhino. Sudan, who was the equivalent of 90 in human years, was the last surviving male of the rarer variety after the natural death of a second male in late 2014. The subspecies' population in Uganda, Central African Republic, Sudan and Chad was largely wiped out during the poaching crisis of the 1970s and 1980s. Poaching was fuelled by demand for rhino horn for use in traditional Chinese medicine, and for dagger handles in Yemen. The last few dozen wild northern white rhinos in the Democratic Republic of Congo had been killed by the early 2000s. By 2008, the northern white rhino was considered extinct in the wild, according to WWF, the global environment campaign.

What did Sudan die from?

The elderly rhino was being treated for degenerative changes in his muscles and bones, combined with extensive skin wounds. Unable to stand up and suffering a great deal in his last 24 hours, Sudan was put down by veterinarians at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.


https://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/17DE9/production/_100496779_045569295-1.jpg
A sculpture of Sudan and his female relatives stands in New York

Is there any prospect the subspecies could survive?

In 2009, the four remaining northern white rhinos, two males and two females, were transferred from the Czech zoo to Ol Pejeta in Kenya. The hope was that the new environment, reflecting their native habitat, would encourage breeding. However, there were no successful pregnancies and Sudan was retired from his role as a potential mate four years ago. Other attempts to conserve some of the northern white rhino genes by mating 27-year-old Najin and her 17-year-old daughter Fatu with a southern white male also failed.

MORE (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-43468066)