In Africa, Southern White Rhinos, once thought to be extinct, now thrive in protected sanctuaries and are classified as near threatened. But the Western Black Rhino and Northern White Rhinos have recently become extinct in the wild. The only two remaining Northern White Rhino, Fatu and Najin, are kept under 24-hour guard in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. With the help of places like Ol Pejeta, Black rhinos have doubled in number over the past two decades from their low point of fewer than 2,500 individuals, but total numbers are still a fraction of the estimated 100,000 that existed in the early part of the 20th century. The majority of the black rhino population—98%—is concentrated in four countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. As of March 2024, Kenya has 1,977 rhinos, including: 1,004 eastern black rhinos, 971 southern white rhinos, and 2 northern white rhinos.

When the 20th century began, 500,000 rhinos roamed Africa and Asia. By 1970, rhino numbers fell ( 430,000 ),to around 70,000, and today, according to recent reports, there are now around 27,000 wild rhinos in Africa and Asia. Today, most rhinos survive only within national parks and reserves due to persistent poaching and habitat loss. Three species of rhino, the Black, Javan, and Sumatran are all critically endangered. Around 75 Javan rhinos and less than 80 Sumatran rhinos remain, which makes them truly under threat of extinction.  And there are only two remaining Northen White Rhinoceros left alive anywhere in the world today. The Western black rhino was declared extinct back in 2011. The last reporting sightings of the Western black rhino were even further back, in 2003, by which time its range had shrunk to small areas in Cameroon. Poaching killed off the last few stragglers.

Evidence suggests that international criminal gangs are supplying poachers with sophisticated equipment to track and kill rhinos. Sometimes, a tranquilizer gun is used to bring down a rhino which then has its horn hacked off, only to awaken later to slowly and painfully bleed to death. Poachers are armed with deadly firearms which also pose a threat to the anti-poaching teams who put their own lives on the line to protect these magnificent animals. Once cut into small quantities for distribution, a single horn is reputed to bring in up to $50,000 per kilo, making it around two-thirds the value of gold. The punishment for poachers varies from country to country on the Africa continent. In Botswana and the Congo, poachers caught in the act can be shot on sight. In Kenya, convicted poachers can be sentenced to 15 years in prison to go along with a fine up to almost $80,000 USD.  In South Africa specifically, the punishment has become more and more severe, with current punishment being a fine of at least $11,000 USD up to $1.3 million USD, as well as a prison sentence of 25 years. And yet, rhino poaching has increased there, with 599 rhinos killed in 2023, 51 more than 2022.

In the wild, the adult black or white rhino has no predators except for humans. Historically, rhino populations were first decimated by trophy hunting during the European colonial era. They have usually been hunted and killed for their horns alone. Their horns are not true horns; they are made of keratin, the same material that makes up our hair and nails. Today, the major demand for rhino horn comes from Asia, primarily China and Vietnam, where it is used in ornamental carvings and traditional medicine. The rhino horn has been touted as a cure for hangovers, cancer, and even impotence. But it has been stated that, “rhino horn is as effective at curing cancer as chewing on your fingernails.” Some vendors in Asia have been known to grind up Viagra with these poached horns to fool the consumer into believing in its potential to cure impotence. The black market of wildlife parts is all about supply and demand.  So as long as there is a demand for it, there are those willing to take risks to fill that demand.

Facial Identification

African Rhino Facts

Rhinos may look like prehistoric creatures and they do date back millions of years, but like us they are also mammals. There are two species of African rhinos, the white rhino and black rhino, and each is distinct in its own way. The white, or square-lipped, rhino derives its name from the Dutch word “weit,” meaning wide. It is actually gray in color with a long face. The black, or hooked-lipped, rhino has a thick, hairless gray hide with a prominent hump on its shoulder. White rhinos are the larger of the two, Whites weighing up to 5,000 lbs. (2,300 kg), while Blacks can weigh up to 3,000 lbs. (1,400 kg).  Both rhinos have two horns and a group of rhinos is appropriately called a crash. White rhinos can be found in small family groups and do tend to be less territorial towards other rhinos. With the exception of subadult groups or mothers with calves, Black rhinos often live solitary lives with males sometimes being extremely territorial

Long Range Identification

In the procedure, scientists transferred a southern white rhino embryo to make sure the procedure could work. This way, no northern white rhino embryos were wasted. The successful transplanting of the embryo and the pregnancy of the southern white rhino surrogate involved the transfer of two southern white rhino embryos into a southern white rhino surrogate named Curra. Two embryos were used to increase the chance of a positive result. With the latest development, scientists are now moving quickly. In 2024, there are plans to implant a surrogate with a northern white rhino embryo.

Recently, scientists have made history by successfully transferring a rhinoceros embryo for the first time, an achievement that could help save the embattled species from the growing threat of poachers. This development is a milestone that scientists say opens the way to saving the endangered northern white rhino. Only two females exist in the world, Najin and her daughter Fatu, and both are unable to carry pregnancies. Najin and Fatu live at Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy, which was also home to Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, which died in 2018. In 2019, scientists harvested developing eggs, from Fatu and Najin, flying them to Avantea, a lab in Italy where they used the sperm of dead northern white rhinos for artificial insemination. The eggs were fertilized, with two resulting in viable embryos. A third embryo was created in 2020 using the same technique. There are now 30 embryos from the northern white rhinos that can be used to produce babies, and all are from Fatu.

While staying at Gamewatchers’ Porini Rhino Camp in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy of Kenya, I became aware of this conservancies’ work in helping to preserve these magnificent animals. In addition to housing and supplying 24/7 care and safety to the last two remaining Northern White Rhinoceros, recently they added to their continuing success by releasing 21 Black Rhinos into the brand-new rhino sanctuary at Loisaba Conservancy in Kenya. The 21 rhinos moved to Loisaba is considered only a starter breeding population. The 11 females and 10 males were chosen by scientists to create the right mix of rhinos from different lineages for maximum breeding potential. This is the first time since 1970 that these wonderful animals have roamed this land they called home for a millennium.

Najin

Although this news may seem promising, this is still a steep uphill battle and the fate of all Rhinoceros, as well as other endangered wildlife worldwide, is in our hands. With scientific persistence, educating the public and continued financial support from around the world, these kinds of success stories may continue to help save a vital and majestic animal from extinction. The world is a better place with Rhinoceros in it and deserves to be around for future generations.

Fatu

What can we do to help? Below are several links to websites that I believe are assisting  to help save Rhinos from extinction. Ol Pejeta is a conservancy in Kenya where you can even visit and see Fatu and Najin for yourselves. If you can’t visit you may also donate to help them continue their great work. There are also links to the African Wildlife Foundation Rhino conservation efforts, International Rhino Foundation, Save the Rhino Foundation, World Wildlife Federation’s Adopt a Rhino program and Over and Above Africa Foundation. All these websites will give you more details, history and information to keep you up to date with all the progress we hope to see moving forward. Another organization that I am supplying a link to below is Africa’s National Park Rescue Foundation. I find them to be a unique organization that seeks to work with African governments to “rescue National Parks on the brink of collapse using no-nonsense direct-action operations to restore effective law enforcement, shut down corruption and reconnect the surrounding communities key to a park’s long-term survival.” These are not the only organizations helping to save the world’s wildlife from human threats. These are just a few that I found noteworthy. Please do your own research to find an organization that best suits you and is doing great things to protect not just rhinos, but wildlife all around the world that are endangered or near extinction.