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Surge in Rhino Poaching Devastates African Populations

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:00:00 GMT

Organized gangs decimate Zimbabwe herds and may wipe out South Africa's endangered black rhinos within a decade. Ranchers trying to save the animals find heartbreak amid carcasses shorn of horns.

The baby rhino, an orphan, had barely been weaned. Her horn was only a few inches long. But that didn't stop the poachers from hacking it off.

David Uys, 33, had helped raise the rhino after her mother was killed by lightning. He called her Weerkind -- "orphan" in Afrikaans. He won't forget the sight of the bodies of the baby and two other rhinos, shot dead, their horns removed.

"I'm not a one for talking about emotions," Uys said quietly. "But it was like seeing one of your family members dead, the brutality of it."

The slain bull rhino, dubbed Longhorn, was about 35 and had a magnificent horn more than 2 1/2 feet long. The third rhino, Sister, had adopted Weerkind after her mother was killed. The three died together in November on this Limpopo province game ranch that is for tourists, not hunters, north of Pretoria.

"You're angry. You're furious. You're sad. You're crying," said Uys, the ranch manager. "Just a bundle of emotions, bursting inside."

A sharp surge in poaching in South Africa and Zimbabwe by organized gangs has devastated Zimbabwe's rhino population and threatens to wipe out South Africa's critically endangered black rhinos within a decade. South African rancher Pelham Jones warns that the more common white rhino won't be far behind unless something is done.

A report last year by the World Wildlife Fund, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and wildlife-trade monitoring network TRAFFIC said poaching had reached a 15-year high, pushing the animals close to extinction. About 1,500 rhino horns were traded illegally in the last three years, despite a long-standing ban on international trade.

Last year, 122 rhinos were killed in South Africa. Jones predicted that at the current poaching rate, 180 to 200 will be killed this year. A provisional 2009 estimate shows only 800 rhinos remaining in Zimbabwe, and 18,553 white and 1,570 black rhinos in South Africa, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, which maintains the ban on the trade of rhino horn.

Rhino ranchers, some of whom keep the animals to attract tourists while others rely on limited trophy hunting, are so wary about the involvement of organized crime in rhino killings that few are willing to talk publicly for fear of endangering animals on their properties. Interviews are given on condition that properties, even nearby towns, are not identified.

The ranch where Weerkind was born and killed is a lush green in the summer rainy season, with rocky hills looming into the sky. Birds with impossibly long tails seem weighed down in flight as they flutter near a pond. A red track cuts uphill through the acacia trees. Rain clouds gather, thunder grumbles, and a sudden drenching rain pours down, stopping abruptly half an hour later.

Up close, the rhinos look benign, almost bovine, ambling in the Limpopo sunshine, plucking grass, shadowed by a group of guards in camouflage carrying semiautomatics. Their small, thick-lashed eyes look sleepily docile. But their sheer size is awesome -- a rhino is almost as big as a car, weighing from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds. From a few yards away, they are terrifying.

Not for Uys, even though he's been charged countless times and once was knocked over and walked on. Afterward, he recalled, the bull looked almost apologetic.

Uys has spent his life with rhinos. At 18, he was a rhino guard, sleeping in the bush with them through violent summer thunderstorms and harsh winter nights.

"I was close enough to scratch their ears. They took me as part of the group."

When he did get charged, it was usually his own fault for getting too close, he says.

"Running away is the worst thing you can do," he said. "You can't outrun a rhino." If there's a tree or boulder, you scramble up. If there's thick enough bush, you stand your ground.

Once, photographing a newborn baby, he and a colleague were suddenly approached by the calf. The two men froze. If the mother saw them and charged, there was no bush, no trees, no boulders.

"They react to movement so if you stand completely still, they won't see you," Uys said. "The guy who was with me, his nerves didn't hold out, and he started running. The cow saw us and she came for us."

There was no time to think.

"I threw down my backpack. She smelled me there and took her fury out on the backpack," he said. It was one of his closest calls.

If you called Uys a rhino whisperer, he'd be offended by the cliche. But he does have a gift with the creatures.

The other day, he crouched low about 20 yards away from a male rhino named Benni, trying to get a look at his slightly injured foot. Another rhino, Bettie, suddenly ambled right up to him. Any sharp move would be disastrous. When she got close enough to nuzzle, he raised his hand. He pressed a fist gently just under her horn. Surprised, she wandered off to graze.

Game rancher Jones, who leads an action group of rhino owners to combat poaching, said incidents are reported every other day.

His phone beeps constantly with text messages alerting him to poaching incidents and sightings of suspected poachers.

"There's another one," he said, grabbing his phone.

The police, he said, are little help. In one recent case, they arrived four days after a group of rhinos was killed. In another, a police officer picked up an ax abandoned by the poachers, destroying any fingerprints.

The South African government disbanded the police force's endangered-species unit in 2003. The government last year promised to bring back a special-investigations unit -- but critics believe it's not enough to make a difference.

"This is our cultural heritage," Jones said. "People come to South Africa to see the Big Five, not the Big Four," he added, a reference to South Africa's five biggest wildlife draws: rhinos, elephants, lions, leopards and cape buffalo.

China's recent thrust into Africa in a rush for resources is a major factor in the illegal rhino horn and ivory trade, analysts believe, because China remains the largest market. Rhino horn, made of keratin, the same substance that forms fingernails, hooves, feathers and hair, has long been used in Chinese medicinal tonics.

Zimbabwe's collapse added to the problem, with corrupt government, army and wildlife officials reportedly involved in poaching and smuggling rhino horn and ivory. The airport in that country's capital, Harare, is reportedly a key transit hub.

In South Africa, Vietnamese diplomatic officials have allegedly been involved in rhino horn buying and smuggling. Reports in Vietnam that a government official was "cured" of cancer by rhino horn appear to have spurred Asian demand.

Many fear that the Asian market is so ancient and entrenched, there's not much a small group of farmers can do to save the species. Some support the idea of rhino farming -- regularly pruning horns, which grow back -- to meet the demand and drive down prices. Others argue that legalizing the trade would only fuel demand, putting the creatures at even more risk. After the killings of the baby rhino and two adults, Uys put his energies into Benni and Bettie. Benni, more unpredictable than Longhorn, sometimes charges unexpectedly. Bettie is docile and sweet. Uys worries about their survival almost as if they were his children, just as he once worried about Weerkind and her family.

"Longhorn and Weerkind and Sister were my passion. But since they have been poached, I have devoted all my time to [Benni and Bettie]. And now I think I love them just as much as I loved the others."

robyn.dixon@latimes.com

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16-Mar-10 8:00 AM

Crackdown on Rhino Horn Trade

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:00:00 GMT

THE EASTERN Cape’s Green Scorpions and the police organised crime unit have played a major part in cracking down a syndicate, which trades in illegal rhino horn smuggling all over South Africa.

As a result of a huge undercover operation, during which officials of the provincial Department of Economic Development & Environmental Affairs (Dedea), combined with its counterparts in the North West province, a Vietnamese kingpin was last week sentenced in the Kimberley Regional Court for illegal trading in rhino horns.

Thien Tuan Nguyen had earlier been arrested in Kimberley following the undercover operation, which also involved the SA Police Services’ airwing.

Economic Development head of department Sybert Liebenberg said the conviction of Nguyen was a clear indication that the department had a zero tolerance approach to environmental crime.

Nguyen, a jeweller from Selwood in Port Elizabeth, was given a R200 000 fine, of which R100 000 was suspended for four years.

The court also ordered the Asset Forfeiture Unit to attach R1.3 million Nguyen had paid undercover agents for the 14 rhino horns he bought from them during the sting operation.

The combined operation came after it was reported last year that Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Le Dung, admitted that an employee at the Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa, Vu Moc Anh, suspected to have been involved in rhino horn smuggling, was returning home.

Dung affirmed the Foreign Ministry’s policy of strictly punishing any employee who traded and trafficked in wild animals.

Three years ago, Commercial Attaché Khanh Toan, at the Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa, was detected to have connections to rhino horn smuggling and was punished, according to the embassy.

The Herald last year also reported that rhino horn and ivory worth an estimated R850 000 had been stolen in a dramatic heist at the Addo Elephant National Park. Five armed men who hit the famous tourist destination also made off with five R1 assault rifles. - By EDDIE BOTHA, Investigations Editor

15-Mar-10 2:00 PM

Two Rhinos Poached in Rietvlei Nature Reserve

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:00:00 GMT

On Monday 8 March 2010 two female Rhinos were illegally killed on the Rietvlei Nature Reserve. This is part of the illegal Rhino horn trade currently running in South Africa.

From the evidence collected at the crime scene it is apparent that the perpetrators used a dart gun to kill the animals and that they were in a helicopter. The rhinos were overdosed with tranquilisers and killed. The poachers cut off the horns and left the crime scene by helicopter. The carcasses of the two animals were discovered by Nature Conservation staff of the City of Tshwane.

The case is currently being investigated by the Organised Crime Unit of the South African Police Force.

Very crucial evidence has been collected and leads are currently being followed up. It is further reported that visitors to the Nature Reserve as well as members of the public adjacent to the Nature Reserve saw suspicious vehicles and the helicopter involved.

As a precautionary measure the rest of the Rhino population on the Nature Reserve will be dehorned. Blood samples of the dead rhinos will be registered at Onderste Poort on the DNA data bank for further assistance to future possible investigations. A team of guards have been appointed to look after the animals.

The City of Tshwane humbly requests members of the public and all visitors to the Nature Reserve to report any suspicious incidents which can assist in the ongoing investigation as well as future illegal activities. A reward will be given to any person who can provide evidence that will lead to the arrest and successful prosecution of these criminals.

15-Mar-10 1:00 PM

Can Rhinos Cure Cancer?

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Last June, a group of five men drove into South Africa's Addo National Park and held up the rangers' station at gunpoint.

They emerged with a small consignment of ivory and rhino horn worth an estimated 850,000 rand - about £75,000, or $114,000.

The rhino horn - which came from animals that had died naturally - was probably destined for Vietnam, where the popular folk tale about its capacity to boost powers in the bedroom has been augmented by a belief that it can cure cancer.

Last year, a Vietnamese diplomat was recalled to Hanoi after being filmed apparently buying rhino horn outside her embassy in Pretoria.

The Addo Park hold-up is perhaps the most striking event to date in what is, by all measures, an escalation in the illegal wildlife trade.

Put together a dwindling resource (in some important species, at any rate) with a growing demand and capacity to pay, and there is only one outcome.

It's a trend that has just been raised at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in Doha, Qatar, where UN agencies have warned again about the urgent plight of the tiger.

Across all sub-species, only about 3,200 remain in the wild. That is considerably fewer than exist in captivity - in the farms and breeding centres of East Asia, and in zoos across the world.

Forgive me if you've heard it before, but to me it is still a staggering statistic that if you were to pick a tiger on the face of the earth at random, the odds are that you would be picking one born and bred in captivity.

Wild tigers now exist mainly in small, fragmented populations - a pattern that promotes lack of genetic diversity and hence is often a step on the road to extinction.

Whereas some governments have stepped up to the plate, all the links in the chain that the wildlife gangsters need appear to be functioning well enough.

Tigers can be poached in India and transported through Nepal to China; rhinos can be shot in one African country, their horns shipped out from a second to an address in Thailand, Vietnam or China.

I had a chat with John Sellar, who heads CITES's enforcement operation.

"It's now four decades since we realised the tiger was in trouble," he noted.

"We've spent millions of dollars on it and we have failed miserably - I like to be optimistic but we have to ask ourselves whether we are really committed."

In south-east Asian countries, he said there was now evidence of a demand for tiger meat.

As a former policeman, he said he found the situation incredible.

Conservation organisations are routinely finding evidence of abuse, of poaching and illegal trading - and many police forces and customs authorities just aren't acting on it, as one presumes they would if the cargoes contained heroin or AK-47s.

As to the price of rhino horn in one of Hanoi's unlicensed (and ineffective) "cancer clinics", Mr Sellar would not be drawn, suggesting that the information could encourage further poaching.

The black rhino, by the way, is already listed as critically endangered.

Often we envisage the solution to environmental problems as being about laws and policies, or markets and incentives, or scientific research and public awareness.

Here is an equation far simpler.

Unless police and customs forces stop the gangsters involved in this business, there will be no more tigers and no more black rhinos in the wild: that's it.

15-Mar-10 9:00 AM

Animals stray from parched Pobitora - Dry spell leaves sanctuary thirsting for rain

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Guwahati, March 15: In the sun-baked plains of Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, the vegetation is starting to wilt and the water bodies are drying up.

The parched earth — and inhabitants of the forest — are thirsting for a drop.

A prolonged dry spell is beginning to take a toll on the sanctuary which has the world’s heaviest density of rhino population. According to the last count in 2009, 84 rhinos were found in the 38.8 square km sanctuary.

“If there is no rain in the next few days we will be in serious trouble. It is a crisis situation,” divisional forest officer S.K. Seal Sharma said today.

He said all the major water bodies inside the sanctuary have dried up, forcing animals to stray out frequently in search of water.

Apart from the huge rhino population, Pobitora, located in Morigaon district, has Asiatic buffalo, wild bear, leopard and wild cats and a large number of migratory birds.

Unlike the three other rhino habitats in the state — Kaziranga, Orang and Manas —Pobitora animals depend on small beels for water, as no major river flows near it.

The sanctuary is surrounded by villages.

“It will be difficult for the animals if these large water bodies dry up entirely, but there are still three to four feet of water in a few large beels,” he said. Another forest official said once the animals, especially the rhinos, stray out of the park, they become easy prey for poachers. Consequently, vigil has been intensified in the park.

A study conducted by Aaranyak, an NGO working for the preservation and restoration of the environment, had identified three major tracks through which rhinos stray out of the wildlife sanctuary — Kholabhuyan-Sildubi-Bonmuri-Murakata-Duboritoli/Hatimu-ria-Gagoldubi-Patekibori, Tamolidova-Kanjuli-Bhekenipathar-Hiloikhunda-Kurua and Kumarpur-Borbeela-Digaru. These tracks have been marked using the global positioning system (GPS).

The official said if there was no rain in the next few days, water bodies will have to be filled artificially. “We hope that it will rain soon and the Herculean task of re-filling the water bodies will not have to be taken up,” he said.

15-Mar-10 9:00 AM

U.S. Dentist Helps Save African Rhinos from Extinction

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:00:00 GMT

here are only about 17,500 Southern White Rhinos remaining in the wild, and they are registered as "vulnerable", as reported by the International Rhino Foundation. This is not the exact rhino referenced in the story, but it is of the same type and general appearance. Courtesy: blog.sa-venues.com

(BUFFALO, N.Y.) - Last August, Dr. Leslie Glassbrenner, of Gentle Dentistry of East Aurora, PLLC travelled to South Africa on an Eco-Safari organized by the Earth Organization (earthorganization.org) to a wildlife game reserve called Thula Thula (which means ‘peace and tranquility’ in Zulu) and adopted a White Rhino to help save them from extinction. (thulathula.com)

In the wild, adult rhinoceroses have few natural predators other than humans. Rhinos are killed by poachers for their precious keratin-containing horns, which are used in expensive medicines, providing a sales market. Whereas the white rhino is the most abundant species of rhinos, they have been steadily on the decline for years, and are in danger of extinction in our lifetime.

While on safari, Lawrence Anthony, the owner of the game reserve, asked Dr. Glassbrenner if she would be interested in obtaining a baby white rhino to be a companion to Heidi, the only rhino left on the reserve.

Until Dr. Glassbrenner’s arrival, Heidi’s only companionship had been a group of wildebeests. Because of her firm commitment to helping animal life on planet earth, Dr. Glassbrenner agreed to bring Thabo, a baby rhino to the reserve. Tragically, shortly after Dr. Glassbrenner left, and before baby Thabo arrived, Heidi was killed by poachers wanting her horns. Two months after her death, Baby Thabo arrived at Thula Thula.

Relocated to Thula Thula on October 25, 2009, the 170kg youngster arrived after a fourteen hour trip from Limpopo. Thula Thula acquired the rhino from the Moholoholo Rehab Centre in Limpopo after the one-day old calf was found alone and badly dehydrated in a Free State game reserve.

Thula Thula game reserve will care for him until he is old enough to be released into the wild. “We do not believe in keeping captive animals”, said owner Lawrence Anthony, “For us, the only good cage is an empty cage, and this youngster is destined for a happy life in the wild.” To cut down on human interaction, get him used to his species and aid his release, the search began for a similar aged female rhino. The search was successful, and on December 22, 2009, baby rhino Ntombi arrived from Moholoholo Rehab Center in Limpopo. Ntombi was rescued in October 2009 by the Moholoholo Rehab Center after her mother got killed by another rhino in front of her.

White rhinos

There are only about 17,500 Southern White Rhinos remaining in the wild, and they are registered as "vulnerable", as reported by the International Rhino Foundation. However, the population of the second subspecies, the critically-endangered Northern White Rhinoceros, is down to as few as four individuals in the wild, and as of June 2008, this sub-species are thought to have become extinct in the wild.

While in Africa, Dr. Glassbrenner visited a local hospital and taught the children there how to brush their teeth and presented them all with toothbrushes.

Dr. Glassbrenner is planning another trip this summer to visit Thabo and to teach more children dental hygiene. She encourages anyone who is interested in saving the animals or helping the children of Africa to plan their trip to Thula Thula. “It will change your life and you will never be the same again,” Says Dr. Glassbrenner.

Dr. Glassbrenner is the owner and CEO of one of the fastest growing dental practices in Western New York, but that never deters her from helping others when she can.

Gentle Dentistry of East Aurora, NY

Gentle Dentistry is located at 215 Main St. East Aurora, NY 14052 and the newly opened Office is located at 5007 Transit Road, Depew, NY 14043. For more information call (716) 655-7080 or visit them at wearegentledentistry.com

Lawrence Anthony and Earth Organization

Lawrence Anthony received the prestigious Earth Day Award at the United Nations in March 2004 for his rescue of the animals at the Baghdad zoo.

In September 2004, he was invited to become the first South African Member of the esteemed "Explorers Club" of New York. Lawrence Anthony is the founder of the international "Earth Organization" dedicated to environmental issues.

Lawrence is the author of two books: Babylon's Ark, the incredible wartime rescue of the Baghdad Zoo, and his latest book, released in South Africa in August 2009, The Elephant Whisperer, the extraordinary story of one man's dedication to save his herd.

To learn more about Eco Safaris and how you can help, go to: earthorganization.org.

To see pictures of Thabo go to thulathula.com

14-Mar-10 2:00 PM

New Safari Lodge Feels the Heat Over Black Rhino

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

A new safari lodge in the Maasai Mara National Reserve is dogged by concerns that it will endanger the survival of the black rhino.

Conservationists opposed to the project have now taken the fight to the cyberspace.

A new report by wildlife authorities shows that the lodge that opened March 6 is located on a critical conservation area.

According to the report compiled by the acting chief game warden of the Mara Triangle Samson Parsime Lenjir, activities at the 30-bed Olkeju Ronkai Lodge will compromise conservation of the endangered black rhino.

The report says the open riverine ecosystem with wood vegetation and grasslands is an important habitat for the black rhino.

Statistics in Mr Lenjir’s report show rhino sightings in the area declined between January 2006 and December 2009. From 12 rhinos sighted in the area in February 2006, there were none by the end of 2009.

“According to data collected from the Kenya Rhino Programme Surveillance Patrol Log, the number of rhino individuals seen per month in the area where Olkeju Ronkai has been set up has not only dropped but disappeared altogether since construction of the lodge started in June 2008,” the report says.

Hassan ole Kamwaro the owner of the Olkeju Ronkai Lodge, blames the opposition to his venture on his political detractors and competitors in the tourism industry who, he says, are keen on seeing him close shop.

He singled out the owners of a big lodge in the Mara for blame, saying they had monopolised the lucrative tourism industry and are keen to stop new entrants from gaining a foothold in the market.

He further accused Kenya Tourism Federation (KTF), the umbrella body for tour operators, of being run by a clique that owns more than 30 lodges in the Mara.

These individuals, he said, should not run KTF and Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) due to conflict of interest as they have denied other investors, especially local people, fair play.

The former Transport Licensing Board boss accused the government of failing to deal with the allegedly illegal lodges and camps.

“We have obtained all the relevant licences as stipulated by the law,” Mr Kamwaro said, showing the licences he obtained from the ministries of Health, Environment and Fisheries, among others, to show that the lodge has met all requirements to operate.

“Out of 108 properties in the Maasai Mara, only 29 per cent have the necessary licences to operate. The rest are doing business illegally. The government should not apply double standards when it comes to matters of licensing and environment,” he said.

“Why is the government sitting on the inter-ministerial report on the Maasai Mara one year after the task force completed its work and handed it in?”

13-Mar-10 2:00 PM

Poachers Kill 14 Rhinos in 2009

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:00:00 GMT

GUWAHATI: Poachers have killed 14 rhinoceroses in the national parks and other forest areas of Assam in the year 2009.

Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain said Kaziranga National Park and Orang National Park lost six rhinoceroses each while one each was killed in Dibrugarh and Karbi Anglong divisions of the forest department.

The total strength of officers and staff in the Kaziranga National Park is 562 out of which 386 are frontline staff posted in 152 camps inside the Park, the minister said in a statement here today.

This strength has remained unchanged for the last 20 years though the area of the Park has been doubled and rhino population has increased from 1,069 to 2,201 during the period, he said.

The government has recently recruited new employees against vacant posts but it was not sufficient to protect the animals in the Park and efforts were on to hire more people, the minister said.

More than 170 armed home guards and 42 personnel of the Assam Forest Protection Force Battalion have already been deployed in the KNP to assist the staff in protection duty.

Another 200 frontline staff were being deputed to the Park from the neighbouring divisions to further strengthen protection measures while the process of raising a new Assam Forest Protection Force Battalion is under progress, the minister added.

13-Mar-10 1:00 PM

Three Held in Connection of Rhino Horn Smuggling

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:00:00 GMT

CHITWAN, March 12: Three people were held in connection to Rhino horn smuggling.

A mobile team of Chitwan National Park held them from the park, said chief Conservation Officer of the park Narendraman Babu Pradhan.

Similarly, an injured rhino came out of national park was vanished from Belhani-3 of Nawalparasi district, said Youth awareness campaign for controlling the poaching of wildlife.

According to a member of the campaign Chandra Gurung the rhino suddenly vanished from Tamaspur of Belhani VDC. He blamed that though they informed the park authorities to rescue it no efforts were made to rescue the injured rhino.

It is learnt that local youth have been searching the missing rhino.

12-Mar-10 3:00 PM

Japan's Crown Prince Visits Rhinos in Kenya

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

OL PEJETA CONSERVANCY, Kenya — Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito Friday visited endangered rhinos at a game reserve in Kenya's Rift Valley before planting a tree here with Nobel Prize laureate Wangari Maathai.

The prince, dressed in casual clothes and walking shoes, started the second day of his Kenya visit with an early morning game drive at the Ol Pejeta reserve, where impala, lions and warthogs abound.

He visited rhino enclosures in the park, feeding a blind Black rhino called Baraka ("blessing" in the Swahili language) and interacting with two female Northern White rhinos, Fatu and Najin, that were donated by a Czech zoo in December.

The prince took numerous photographs of the animals and at one point walked up to a small crowd of local people who had gathered to welcome him waving flags and greeted them with a few words of Swahili.

Maathai helped the prince plant a tree at Sweetwaters camp inside the conservancy, adding to the some 30 million trees that her Green Belt Movement has planted on the African continent since its creation in 1977.

His convoy, made up of a large number of Japanese vehicles, then headed to Mwea in central Kenya to visit an irrigation and agricultural development centre.

The prince, 50, arrived in Nairobi late Wednesday for a three-day trip that follows a visit to Ghana.

On Thursday he met with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, who hailed Japan's "continued financial and technical support" notably in programmes to combat climate change.

The prince then visited a Japanese school in the outskirts of Nairobi.

Prince Naruhito said his country appreciated collaboration with Kenya and would continue to partner it in various areas of development.

On Saturday the prince will visit the national museum in Nairobi and meet with members of the Japanese community in Nairobi before flying out of Kenya.

12-Mar-10 2:00 PM

Beauty of the Beasts

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

FOR an actress to be a success, she must have the face of Venus, the brains of Minerva, the figure of Juno and the hide of a rhinoceros, declared Ethel Barrymore.

With further investigation she would have found rhinos respond to companionship, are curious and playful, and gravitate towards children. They can be traced back to the Jurassic period and are happy to wander in the wild solo or in small groups, becoming aggressive only if their territory or family hierarchy is threatened.

The southern white rhino was a leading target for big game hunters a century ago. The slaughter emptied Africa of white rhino and by 1910, when only 100 remained, a concerted conservation program was initiated to prevent this extraordinary animal from becoming extinct.

Today, there are thriving populations in protected reserves and zoos across the world.

I am fortunate to be invited to join colleagues at Wildlife Veterinary Operations of the Kruger Research Centre to take part in a white rhino capture in this South African reserve.

We drive to the airport, where a South African National Parks helicopter is being checked over for our departure. On board are the pilot and two vets, one of whom is a marksman who will dart the selected rhinos from the helicopter. It's a smooth and professional operation, almost military-like in its precision, and the care and welfare of the animals is the top priority.

South African National Parks holds three rhino auctions a year, offering about 200 animals for sale; potential buyers are vetted and must be registered regarding their suitability to buy as well as their reasons for doing so.

The price for a male white rhino is about $60,000 and the money raised goes towards conservation and research. We need to capture two males rhinos for an auction that will be taking place soon in Pretoria.

We take off and the magnificence of the vast Kruger Reserve spans the horizon.

We are heading towards the eastern border of the Kruger, where the rhinos will be selected. Poaching has increased alarmingly in this area, so the presence of the capture team and the helicopter is an added deterrent.

Anti-poaching squads constantly patrol the reserve but the vast territory is hard to cover in its entirety. Between 2000 and 2007, 120 rhinos were poached from Kruger, but in the past 18 months that figure has doubled. Rhinos are poached for their horns and according to Johan Malan, operations manager of South African Veterinary Wildlife, the contraband goes through Singapore and Vietnam, mostly to Asian customers. Horns command a huge bounty and to impoverished African communities around the reserve, the rich rewards are often worth the risk.

We spot a magnificent male white rhino and we fly towards the waiting transport truck and the on-ground veterinary team.

The helicopter lands and we join the team while the marksman and pilot take off, with the marksman in a harness strapped to the side of the helicopter.

They fly over the rhino and herd him closer to the ground team, then he is expertly darted. The sedative is finely tuned to allow the animal to revive quickly, which means the team will be able to gently walk him to the transport truck. In the old days, a stronger sedative would completely knock out the animal, who would then need to be crane-lifted on to transport, as the animals weigh up to 2800kg.

The operation goes like clockwork and the darted rhino walks towards the road track, staggers a little and then lies down.

Five vets simultaneously conduct medical checks, including taking blood, faeces samples and tagging, and it's not long before the sedative weakens and he begins to revive.

The vets are then helped by a group of 20 keepers and park employees to get the beast back on to his feet. He is gently blindfolded and secured with ropes, and with all the team pulling and guiding him, he walks slowly to the transport and up the ramp, to be settled inside.

He will be driven to the holding yards at Skukusa research camp.

There are now 10,000 white rhinos in Kruger as a result of successful breeding over the past few years, but this is countered by poaching and the human population demanding more land from the wild, so conservation work is always under threat.

Ecotourism is emerging as a growth area, opening opportunities for local communities to make a living other than subsistence farming and creating a chance for conservation to develop and to preserve what is left of the wild, to allow a balance to exist between human life and wildlife.

Heather Caddick is the president of Zoos South Australia.

12-Mar-10 2:00 PM

“Kaziranga short-staffed to protect rhinos”

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Assam Forest and Environment Minister Rockybul Hussain on Friday informed the Assembly that the present strength of frontline staff of the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) was not sufficient to protect rhinos and other animals there.

Replying to a question by Communist Party of India (CPI) member Drupad Borgohain, Mr. Hussain said the strength of the frontline staff in 152 camps inside the park was 386 and this remained unchanged for the past 20 years though the area had doubled and the rhino population grown from 1,069 to over 2,000.

Largest population

According to the 2009 census there are 2,201 rhinos in Assam of which 2,048 (the largest population of one-horned rhinos in the world) are found in this World Heritage Site. The present area of the KNP is 940 sq.km.

12-Mar-10 2:00 PM

Drug Hiccup in Rhino Translocation - South Africa fails to supply tranquiliser

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Guwahati, March 12: The second phase of the ambitious rhino translocation programme has hit a roadblock with a South African company expressing its inability to supply ethorphine, an immobilising drug, to the Assam forest department.

The Wildlife Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd of South Africa could not supply the drug because the Central Bureau of Narcotics had not placed an indent for it with the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).

Informing the forest department of this on March 1, the South African firm asked the authorities to apply for ethorphine hydrochloride soon as it could still use its current import permit that expires on May 9.

The rules for supplying narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances to other countries stipulate that the importing country has to inform the INCB of its requirement, including the quantity of the drug it wants to import. Laying down the procedures of the INBC, the letter from the company also stated that once the concerned authority has applied, the board decides on the matter.

“This is disappointing news for us,” chief wildlife warden Suresh Chand told this correspondent.

“We have written to the Central Bureau of Narcotics to place an indent with the INCB. The time is important as the permit expires on May 9,” a forest department official said.

Time is already running out for the next phase of rhino translocation as the process becomes very difficult once summer sets in. Funding agencies are anxious to see that the next round of rhino translocation gets started quickly.

The official said the department was happy when it acquired the import licence but never knew that such procedural hiccups could come up.

For the first phase of the translocation in 2008, the department had procured the drug from Singapore with the help of an international agency as the programme had to be started quickly.

“We at least know now what the rules are and will act accordingly in the future,” the official said.

The INCB is an independent and quasi-judicial monitoring body for the implementation of the United Nations international drug control conventions. Its endeavour, in co-operation with governments, is to ensure that adequate supplies of drugs are available for medical and scientific uses and that these do not get diverted from licit to illicit channels.

The principal aim of the rhino translocation programme is to attain a population of 3,000 wild rhinos in Assam and to populate the potential rhino habitat areas of Manas, Dibru-Saikhowa and Laokhowa-Bura Chapori wildlife sanctuaries through translocation from Kaziranga and Pobitora.

The African and Asian rhino specialist groups of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission (IUCN/SSC) have already informed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora that after the first two rhinos were moved to Manas under the project in 2008, progress has virtually come to a halt as the immobilising drug could not be procured.

12-Mar-10 2:00 PM

Rhinos in Kaziranga to Have Special Guards

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

KAZIRANGA (Assam): The Border Security Force (BSF) personnel have been deployed at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam to protect endangered rhinos from poachers.

Famous for its one-horned rhinoceros, the park has become an easy target for the poachers, who navigate the Brahmaputra River surrounding the park to enter Kaziranga and kill the rhinos for their horns.

Forest guards have welcomed the move for they say the BSF personnel have the advantage of being equipped with sophisticated weapons.

" Forest Department does not have sophisticated weapons so they cannot perform such strong duty and it becomes difficult at times to manage. Secondly, there are about 3-4 people in a camp here and our 0.15 and other rifles are not enough. So I believe with the deployment of BSF it would really be beneficial for us," said Ranjit Baruaj, a forest official, Kaziranga Park.

Poachers kill rhinos for their horns, which many believe contain aphrodisiac qualities, besides being used as medicines for curing fever, stomach ailments and other diseases. Rhino horn is also much fancied by buyers from the Middle East who turn them into handles of ornamental daggers.

The park is a sanctuary for more than half of the world's one-horned rhinoceros population.

12-Mar-10 2:00 PM

Port Lympne says 'guten tag' to Zawadi the Black Rhino

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:00:00 GMT

She may not be much of a looker but staff at Port Lympne wild animal park are getting quite attached to her.

Meet Zawadi, a female black rhino who is a new arrival at the park.

The three-year-old travelled around 630 miles from Berlin Zoo.

Her mother is expecting another baby so it was time for her to leave, just as she would in the wild, and Port Lympne was chosen to be her new home.

Zawadi, whose name means gift in Swahili, will join other young rhinos that have been born at the park.

Paul Beer, who has cared for Port Lympne’s herd of black rhino for 15 years, said: “She seems to have travelled quite well and hopefully she will settle in quickly and mix with our other young rhino.”

Port Lympne has 21 black rhinos, the largest breeding herd outside of Africa. The Aspinall Foundation has bred 30 calves to date, and has successfully returned five back to protected areas of the wild in Africa.

Black rhinos are critically endangered. Numbers have declined by 90 per cent over the last three generations, due mainly to poaching for their horns which are used ornamentally and in traditional Chinese medicine.

11-Mar-10 4:00 PM

31 rhinos killed in South Africa

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:00:00 GMT

Nelspruit - The slaughtering of rhinos in SA is continuing unabatedly.

According to Juan de Beer, manager of the protected species unit at the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), 31 rhinos have been killed in the country so far this year.

"Two of those rhinos were killed in the Loskop Dam Nature Reserve in Mpumalanga, and 10 in the Kruger National Park," said De Beer.

"The other provinces where poaching is rife are North West, with nine killings, and Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, with four killings each. The Free State has reported two rhinos killed for their horns."

De Beer said he suspected that poachers might be using aircraft to track and kill the rhinos in both private game reserves and national parks.

Early days

"I say this because sometimes the carcasses are found with poisoned darts in them, which shows that the animal has been darted from the sky. This can only happen if the poacher is using a helicopter."

White rhinos are being targeted more than their black counterparts, according to De Beer.

"That's because the black rhino is an endangered species, with few of them to be found, while white rhinos are simply protected and still occur in much larger numbers than their black counterparts."

According to the general manager of public relations, media and stakeholder relations at South African National Parks (SANParks), Reynold Thakuli, it was still "early days" for the hi-tech anti-poaching measures that the organisation had announced in October 2009.

These included aircraft, motorbikes and night-vision equipment for section rangers, as well as the appointment of 57 new field rangers.

"It's still too early to say it's been a failure," Thakuli said, adding that the army would patrol the Kruger National Park's eastern boundary with to Mozambique "later this year" to help curb poaching.

11-Mar-10 4:00 PM

Imports Raise Fear of China Rhino Farms

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Imports raise fear of China rhino farms

RHINOS, among the world's most endangered and iconic animals, are being farmed on Chinese wildlife reserves to harvest their horns, a report by international conservation monitors has suggested.
The monitors have found that China has imported 141 white rhino from South Africa since 2000, far more than is needed for tourism purposes.

They have also gathered evidence that the aim of the purchases is to set up rhino farms.

"The suspicion is that these rhinos are being aggregated into herds and farmed for their horns, which are valued for medicinal purposes," said Tom Milliken of Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

The revelation about China's surge in rhino purchases is part of an official report to be delivered to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. A meeting has been organised in Qatar from next weekend to discuss the burgeoning trade in threatened animals and plants.

The report says: "Since 2000, Chinese data suggest 141 rhinos were obtained from South Africa. Reports of horn harvesting of captive rhinos in China have surfaced but need further verification. "Clarification on the purpose of keeping large aggregations of captive rhino in China would be welcomed."

The discovery has alarmed British and EU officials, who plan to ask the Chinese to explain if they are allowing rhino farming.

Rhinos have suffered a catastrophic decline in numbers over the past 50 years. There are five rhino species, of which three live in Asia. One of these, the Javan rhino, is close to extinction, while the closely related Sumatran rhino numbers only about 300. However, it is the fate of the more numerous African rhinos that is causing the most concern because of a surge in poaching.

Of the two African species, black rhinos number only about 4200 while an estimated 17,500 white rhinos remain. Traffic blames the decline on demand for rhino horn in Asian traditional medicine. Despite being made mainly of keratin, the same protein found in fingernails and hair, the ground-up horn is reputed to calm fevers such as malaria.

A new threat appears to have emerged from Vietnam, where the horn is sought as a cancer cure.

7-Mar-10 2:00 PM

Elephant Killed, Rhino Injured by Poachers

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Golaghat, Mar 7 (PTI) An elephant was killed and a rhino injured by poachers in Assam, Forest department officials said today.

The carcass of the pachyderm was found inside the Dibru Saikhowa reserve forest in Upper Assam's Tinsukia district.

The tusks were removed by the poachers after killing the elephant a few days back, they said.

A full grown male rhino was found in an injured state inside Agratoli range of the Kaziranga national park today.

Agratoli forest ranger K K Deuri said a gunshot was heard late last night following which the guards swung into action.

While poachers managed to escape in the cover of darkness, the rhino was found with a bullet injury on the right leg this morning.

Three poachers were arrested by Forest Guards on February 18 when they tried to target a rhino inside the park, a world heritage site.

7-Mar-10 2:00 PM

Bones, Scales in $15m Haul

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:00:00 GMT

POLICE have seized tiger bones, anteater scales and bear gall bladders in an international operation against the use of endangered plants and animals in traditional medicine.

Illegal animal and plant products with a retail value of €10 million ($15.1 million) were seized in an operation carried out by authorities around the world, global law enforcement agency Interpol said.

Wildlife, police and customs officers from 18 countries, including Australia, co-operated on Operation Tram, which ran from February 1 to 28.

Traditional Chinese healers use tiger bone to treat arthritis, rhinoceros horn for fevers, and bear bile to treat infections.

Part of the operation was staged in Rome, where forest rangers said they had seized 30,000 products containing parts from endangered species after checking more than 3000 individuals, planes, baggage and container ships.

Forty arrest warrants were issued.

7-Mar-10 11:00 AM

Poachers Shots and Injured a Rhino

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:00:00 GMT

Dibrugarh, March 7: An elephant killed and its tusks gouged out by poachers some 20 days ago in an un-patrolled part of Dibru-Saikhowa National Park was located by a search team last evening.

The team consisting of officials from the forest department and nature lovers found the carcass in Laikapathar in the Guijan range of the national park.

“They reported early this morning from the spot that bullet marks had been found in the head of the elephant. They also found some fired cases. It is a clear case of poaching,” divisional forest officer of Tinsukia wildlife division, Aniruddha Dey, said.

A team member said circumstantial evidence indicated that the elephant had been killed some 20 days ago.

The information about the kill, according to Dey, reached late since the area is deep inside the jungle and is surrounded by rivulets and streams.

“You can say it is almost an unguarded territory. Our men hardly reach there while patrolling. This might had given the poachers good opportunity to hunt in the area,” the official said.

The forest department received the information from some fishermen who had gone to the area on Friday.

“As soon as we received the information we formed a team which included some of our men, some NGO workers and local people and set out on boats to locate the poaching site. Initially, we had information that four elephants might have been killed,” Dey said.

“The poachers had severed the head of the elephant from the body and gouged out the two tusks,” Chiranjeeb Gogoi, a science teacher of Rupai High School and an orchid researcher, who was part of the search team, said.

The group said the elephant should be around 10 to 12 years old and stood about 6-foot tall.

Another elephant died of its injuries after it fought with a member of its herd near Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district this morning. Jiten Bora, ranger, Dibrugarh Range, said the elephant had been badly wounded in the fight.

“We located the elephant and tried to treat the wounds inflicted by tusks, but it died at around 11.30 this morning,” Bora said.

Poachers shot at and injured a rhino inside Kaziranga National Park last evening.

Sources said gunshots were heard near the Rangamotia anti-poaching camp in the Agaratoli range and a search operation was launched. The rhino was found this morning with blood oozing from several points in the body.

“The horn is intact, though,” a source said.

7-Mar-10 9:00 AM