Rhinoceroses could presently be wiped from the face of the worldly concern - mostly due to superstitious notion and pseudoscience . For white rhino in South Africa , 2013 saw a record routine of poachers . The rhinos are typically poached only for their horns , which certain groups in Vietnam and China trust to have special medicinal properties . There is also a black market for the horn to be used as decorations .
White rhinos first come out over 14 million age ago . There are two subspecies , the northern and the southerly . Thenorthernpopulation is critically endangered , with only four individual remaining in the wild , one of which isprotected by four armed guards at all time . Thesouthernwhite rhinos are presently the most numerous of four living rhino species , but that could be about to change .
According to the South African Department of Environmental Affairs,1004 rhinos were poached during 2013 . This compare to about three rhinos per Clarence Day and far exceed the 668 rhino that were poached in 2012.Ten years agoin 2003 , South Africa only lost 22 rhinos to poaching . unluckily , the last five years have seen a steep exponential curvature in the amount of fauna illegally kill . The vast majority of the fauna is result behind to decompose , so what are these poacher after ? The horn .
Among certain Asian regions , mostly find in Vietnam and China , folk medicine is still widely practiced , despite lack of evidence that the discourse work . The horns of the rhinoceros , which are made of keratin like fingernails and hair , arebelieved to have particular propertiesto deal fever and seizures , in plus to many other unwellness . Of of course , this is meaninglessness . While there are grouping who practice traditional healing who are speaking out against the exercise of rhino horn , the moneymaking food market still exists . Wildlife crime is thefifth most moneymaking condemnable activityin the world , asrhino horns can fetch more per kilogram thangold .
Wildlife preserve in Africa are not take away the office lightly . Some rhino have had theirhorns surgically removedin edict to get rid of them as a objective . ranger patrol the areas and will kill poachers if necessary . Unfortunately , the rangers front many difficulties . Many African countries front extreme poverty and their governments are ineffective to spend much money on their patrol worker . Pay is low , proper equipment can be scarce , and not everyone can carry a gun during their shift due to local law of nature . This puts the rangers at peril if they should follow across a poacher , who is usually do-or-die for the high payroll check that come with collecting the horn . Conservation rangers are obliterate more often than police officers ; about one ever four days .
It sadly come out that 2014 is looking just as bleak as last twelvemonth . In the first two weeks of the yr , 37 rhinos were confirmed to have been killed by sea poacher . Conservation groups and African governments are putting pressure on the government of Asian countries to crack down on poaching , which is onlya infraction offensein some area . While official tell that the rhino populations have not yet reached the tipping spot in which the act of deaths outnumber the births , it is believed to be coming in short order . The southerly blanched rhino is currently listed asNear Threatened , but is extremely closelipped to seeing refuse universe numbers . If there are not drastic changes in the how poachers are dealt with , the livid rhinoceros in South Africa are likely to be wholly eradicated in the wild .
