The Chinese came up with a medicine that they say could cure fevers and cancer, of course this was during the 1950's. Because of the industrial and agriculture lifestyle in the 20th century farmers and ranchers in Africa were killing these black rhinos to save their crops. The western black rhino had one of the biggest across central and western Africa. As of Novemthe world has lost a subspecies of black rhino. The western black rhino are declared extinct. And five of the eight species of tuna are now in the threatened or near threatened categories.I know this was a while ago but I thought it was an interesting topic and a tragic one at that. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature says an alarming 40 per cent of Madagascar's terrestrial reptiles are threatened. We've been saying this for years, this decade will be the worst, no the next one will be the worst and so on and there's no doubt that each decade has become the one nearest to that extinction point for many species. MICHAEL KENNEDY: That applies to a whole lot of very well-known species - tigers, orangutans. SIMON LAUDER: So in other words there could be no rhinos left in the wild within a decade? But if you were to allow for the current rate of poaching going on for the demand to be fed in China and Asia in general, you're talking 10 years. Even though that might sound a lot, it's not, it's very, very small. MICHAEL KENNEDY: If you look at the most common species, I think the southern white rhino is up at around 20,000 animals. Michael Kennedy from Humane Society International says unless conservation improves and poaching is stopped it won't be long until there are no rhinos left in the wild. A subspecies of the Javan rhino is probably extinct, following the poaching of what is thought to be the last animal in Vietnam last year. In central Africa, the northern white rhino is teetering on the brink and has been listed as "possibly extinct in the wild". SIMON LAUDER: In its updated list of threatened species, known as the Red List, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature warns that other species of rhino are also very close to extinction. So I think really at the international level and at governmental level we need to be better at debunking those medicinal myths that are driving the demand in the countries where that's happening and also better at enforcing and implementing anti-poaching legislation. That poaching has become incredibly organised and is now run by organised crime. I think it just underpins the reality that globally we're doing a very poor job at protecting this unique group of animals.īENN BRYANT: The number one conservation threat confronting rhinoceros around the planet is poaching for horn and that's driven by a demand for horn that is due to the misconception that it has medicinal properties and particularly since the notion has arisen in parts of the world that rhino horn is an effective treatment for cancer, that drives a demand which is met by illegal activities and poaching. Today the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has declared the western black rhino officially extinct.ĭr Benn Bryant is the senior vet at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, New South Wales, where he runs a black rhino breeding program.īENN BRYANT: It's absolutely tragic. In 2006 a survey of the western black rhino's last known habitat, in Cameroon, found none. Ten years ago only 10 were known to have survived decades of poaching. SIMON LAUDER: The western black rhino was once widespread in the savanna of central west Africa. The declaration's been made by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which is also very concerned about two other rhino species.Ī quarter of the world's mammals are now believed to be at risk of extinction. MARK COLVIN: It's been years since it's been seen in the wild and now the western black rhinoceros is officially extinct.
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