Let’s Talk Rhino Poaching Prevention

Rhino conservation should be one of South Africa’s greatest conservation success stories. Instead, during the first decade of the 21^st century, the demand for rhino horn soared.

Prior to 2006, South Africa was only losing a handful of rhinos a year to poaching. But after 2007, the numbers of rhino lost each year rose steadily. Although the number of animals being poached has declined slightly, the amount being lost is still far too high and it will soon become a reality that deaths will outnumber births.

“We should have learnt from our previous mistakes,” says Summers. “Approximately 100 years ago, the southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) almost became extinct. Luckily for us in Hluhluwe–iMfolozi — South Africa’s oldest national park — a handful survived. And thanks to Operation Rhino, the southern white rhino’s population managed to make a remarkable recovery.”

South Africa is home to the world’s largest population of wild rhinos, which makes it an incredibly important country for rhino conservation. However, poaching isn’t limited to South Africa.

Rhino poaching is increasing across the whole continent and the three Asian rhino species are also under constant threat. It’s shocking that today, three out of five global species of rhino are critically endangered.

EcoTraining offers six possible solutions to the global poaching crisis at: https://www.ecotraining.co.za/rhino-poaching-prevention/