Africa's Black and White Rhino's Making a Comeback after Decline
8/19/98
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Title: Africa's Black and White Rhino's Making a Comeback after
Decline
Source: Reuters
Status: Copyrighted, contact source to reprint
Date: 8/19/98
Byline: Robert Evans
GENEVA, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Africa's Black and White Rhinos, which had
seemed doomed after two decades of poaching for their horns slashed
their numbers, are making a limited comeback, conservation agencies
reported on Wednesday.
According to the Swiss-based World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the
World Conservation Union (IUCN), the total rhino population on the
continent rose from an estimate of 9,971 in 1995 to 11,065 in 1997.
``It may not seem like a very large increase, but when you take into
consideration the difficulties in dealing with illegal hunting over
large areas, this is definitely good news,'' WWF rhino specialist
Holly Dublin said in a statement.
Black Rhinos, which totalled around 65,000 in 1970, were reduced to
only around 2,000 by the mid-1990s, but their numbers had increased by
last year to 2,599, the two agencies said.
White Rhinos, estimated at 7,563 in 1995, totalled 8,466 two years
later.
The increase was the result of intensive conservation efforts and
anti-poaching drives in several African countries including South
Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Namibia, according to the two bodies. Both
animals are grey, despite their names, and have two horns. But while
the White Rhino has a wide mouth and mainly eats grass, the Black
Rhino has a hooked lip enabling it to tear down tree leaves, its
staple diet.
The new figures, Dublin said, ``are a sign that Africa's rhinos are
not lost and can be conserved if adequate safeguards and conservation
strategies are set in place and strengthened in the countries where
rhinos still exist.''
But WWF figures showed that the so-called Northern White Rhino,
largely found in the Democratic Republic of Congo which was formerly
known as Zaire, remained in danger of extinction with only 25 known to
still exist there.
The Southern White Rhino, reduced to only 100 animals through
intensive hunting by the turn of the century, had flourished since
then because of intensive conservation efforts in South Africa, its
main home.
The overall decline of rhino populations until the mid-1990s had been
driven by a feverish demand for horn used in traditional Chinese
medicines in Asian countries and for dagger handles in the Middle
East, the agencies said.
Although an international ban on the trade in rhino products was
agreed in 1977, the market for horn still flourished, Dublin said.
Despite the upturn in numbers, there was no room for complacency.
Any illegal trade would always provide temptation for making a quick
cash gain.
``Long-term conservation success can only be brought about by
increasing the level of awareness among consumers, securing adequate
funding for field conservation, and identifying alternatives for
people to benefit from rhinos without killing them.''
WWF officials said there were dim prospects for the three types of
Asian rhino.
The Great One-Horned Rhino found mainly in India now only numbered
around 2,000, the Sumatra Rhino numbered between 110 and 300 in
Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, while only 75 Java Rhinos were known
to survive in Indonesia and Vietnam.
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.