It's a bad time to be a rhino...

[Shrike]

It's sad that we've come to this:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/14/northern-white-rhino-sudan-armed-guard-kenya_n_7059682.html

 

[Blueandbluer]

It's sad that we've come to this:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/14/northern-white-rhino-sudan-armed-guard-kenya_n_7059682.html

Man. That's depressing.

 

[Najakeeper]

They are cutting the horns of all Rhinos in the wild these days. One of the only way to stop the poachers. But the necessity for armed guards even then shows how deep we've sunken.

 

[awiec]

All for a touted folk aphrodisiac. Rich men in certain countries snort ground up rhino horn as it is supposed to work like viagra. They're just snorting keratin, much cheaper to just get a bunch of finger nails and ground it up or ya know...use viagra.

 

[Shrike]

I think we're going to see this story play out again and again. Many of the charismatic megafauna people know and love just aren't going to make it in the wild. It's sad, but it's also a really complex problem. These species need space and in many instances they're competing for it with subsistence farmers that are barely getting by. Throw in the black market for animal parts and you have a real problem. The allure of quick money is too much to resist, and who am I to say that somebody doesn't have the right to do whatever it takes to support themselves and their family? Overcoming these obstacles will take tremendous buy-in at the highest levels...not to mention money, and lots of it. I just don't think we're capable of doing what it takes on a global scale. Rhinos, big cats, pandas, great apes, etc. will be the big losers.

 

[WindedFatnNasty]

I think we're going to see this story play out again and again. Many of the charismatic megafauna people know and love just aren't going to make it in the wild. It's sad, but it's also a really complex problem. These species need space and in many instances they're competing for it with subsistence farmers that are barely getting by. Throw in the black market for animal parts and you have a real problem. The allure of quick money is too much to resist, and who am I to say that somebody doesn't have the right to do whatever it takes to support themselves and their family? Overcoming these obstacles will take tremendous buy-in at the highest levels...not to mention money, and lots of it. I just don't think we're capable of doing what it takes on a global scale. Rhinos, big cats, pandas, great apes, etc. will be the big losers.

+1
I agree, a lot of these animals live in third world countries where people are starving. When they are getting that kind of price for the animals they kill I understand why its happening . I don't agree with it obviously but it's kinda like people robbing banks here.

 

[MarkmD]

I think its shocking how they keep get away with it :-(