10 Reasons why Rhinos are awesome

1.The skull of a rhino was one time believed to be of a Dragon. There still is a sculpture from the 1500’s in a town in Austria which used the Rhino skull as a model for the dragon head.

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2. A group of rhinos is called a crash.

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3. There is a world Rhino day on September 22

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4. Rhinos have been around for 40 million years

Let’s make them last 40 million more years!

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5. In ancient times, Rhinos were believed to have magical powers

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6. Once upon a time, there were wooly Rhinos

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7. An adult rhino’s skin can be as thick as 5 centimetres.

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8. Rhinos can weigh over 1000 kilos, some (like the White rhino) can weigh over 3500 kilos.

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9. Rhinos create their own sunblock by rolling in the mud

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10. Black Rhinos run on their toes, and they can go as fast as 56 kilometres an hour.

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Help us save the rhino, by spreading the word about the Rhino’s critical situation.

Vietnamese demand for rhino horns decreases

Throughout the past year, a statistical study shows that rhino horn demand in Vietnam has decreased with a staggering 33 %. The study, led by the organizations Nielsen for the Humane Society International (HSI) and the Vietnam Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora presented on October 15 these results.

The fall in demand is presumably due to the a public information campaign in Vietnam calling for an end to the mass poaching of rhinos and the circulation of rhino horns in the Vietnamese market. The awareness campaign has concentrated on spreading understanding and educational classes of the non-exsitant medical value of rhino horns throughout the public. The campaign, mainly operating in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi has through universities, school and feminist groups done presentations to extend the the truth of rhino horns.

Billboards have been erected to gain public attention and the children’s book “I’m a Little Rhino” has been published and distributed throughout schools.

The results also shows that only 2.6% of the population in the Vietnam now  buy and use rhino horn. There has been a 25% decline in the number of people who believe that rhino horns have a medicinal or spiritual value. However, 38% still remain of people in Vietnam who believe that the use of rhino horn cures diseases such as cancer and rheumatism.

Hopefully this step will further lead to poaching awareness in Vietnam and East / South Asia.

Rhino & Elephant March – International Rhino Day

Today, on the fourth of October, the SIS Rhino Preservation Group together with several other volunteers marched from the Thai Embassy to the Embassy of China in Stockholm. Many people came and took notice as we walked down the streets of Stockholm to spread awareness of the illegal poaching of elephants as well as rhinos. The walk began at around 02:00 pm and ended 03:30. Hopefully we could all join together next year on the fourth to protest our dissatisfaction with mass poaching in Africa.

Two Kruger National Park staff and one ranger arrested after revelation of rhino poaching activity

Two employees working at Kruger National Park and a ranger were arrested on September 22 after the discovery of ties with rhino poaching. The two members were found at the Lower Sabie area of the national park armed with hunting rifles. After the arrest, one dead rhinos were found nearby killed by bullet wounds.

The CEO of  Kruger National Parks, Abe Sibiya, stated the following: ‘It is unfortunate that those trusted with the well-being of these animals are alleged to have become the destroyers of the same heritage that they have a mandate to protect.’

Mandla Chauke, a rhino poacher arrested back in 2011, was proven guilty by the national court and sentenced to 77 years in prison, a similar fate might be put upon these two employees.

Stockholm Rhino & Elephant March

On the 4th of October, the students of SIS and members of the SIS Rhino Preservation Group will engage themselves in a march in protest for the mistreatment of rhinos in Africa. The march will begin at 02:00 pm outside the Embassy of Thailand and will be organized by the organization Global March for Elephants and Rhinos. Similar marches will take place all across the globe in several major cities on the same date, information on the details of each march and be found on the official website http://www.march4elephantsandrhinos.org. 

Memorial lights are recommended to be brought to the march and T-shirts will also be sold for 100 SEK. The capital will be used to keep the website and the organization alive and functioning, the extra will go to charity programs for the preservation of rhinos and elephants.

Hope that you will be able to make it !

New rhino arrives to Chester Zoo as part of breeding program

The newest arrival at Chester Zoo is a 29-year old Eastern Black Rhino, named Kifaru, directly transported from Hannover Zoo, Germany, as a step forwards for breeding programs in Europe. Hopes are that this addition to the zoo will increase the number of Eastern black rhinos in Europe and possible promote growth of its kind. Currently it is believed that only 650 Eastern Black Rhino are left in the world as a result of a drastic increase in both demand and poaching in Eastern Africa. The curator of mammals at Chester Zoo, Tim Rowlands said “With a species that’s as highly threatened with extinction as the Eastern black rhino, all individuals in the European breeding programme are important. Kifaru has only sired three calves previously, this means he has a great opportunity to add to the dwindling number of black rhino which makes him one of the most important rhinos around.” Hopefully, Kifaru will be prosperous in his new environment at Chester Zoo and potentially promote growth and awareness of the Eastern Black Rhinos

South Africa implements “gunfire location” security system to fight poaching

“ShotSpotter” a security device produced by the Californian SST Inc, is to be installed throughout Kruger National Park as a new attempt to locate poaching activities. The device is a noise recognition system built to alert nearby authorities when when shots are fired within the device’s “hearing” range. The ShotSpotter can detect shots up to 3 kilometers, in the USA the ShotSpotter has already been put into practice in urban areas with high crime rates, however, this is the first time the ShotSpotter is used within wildlife. As firearms in general are the most popular and common weapon of choice for rhino-poachers, hopes are that the ShotSpotter will catch them during the act and alarm the local conservationists as quickly as possible.

Botswana’s “Shoot to Kill” Policy

In 2013, the Botswana state, due to excessive poaching activities against rhinos, have issued a “Shoot to Kill” policy against all armed poachers in plans to put an end to illegal hunting. The Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Tshekedi Khamahave, stated during a press conference to international delegates in Gaborone that “It’s a culture; we have to kill the supply to starve that culture. That is one of the reasons why in Botswana with our anti-poaching unit we don’t necessarily interrogate the poacher … This must be stressed. I have always told the security officers that even though the discretion is theirs in cases like these, they have to observe the law.”

South Africa to relocate 500 rhinos away from Kruger National Park

South Africa has announced a relocation for up to 500 rhinos within Kruger National Park to be transported to safer grounds. The South African minister of environment, Edna Molewa, released the news on Tuesday explaining that the decision had to be made to “… allow the total rhino population size of South Africa to continue to grow.”

Poaching within Kruger has sky-rocketed since 2007 from 13 confirmed deaths to 1,004 deaths in 2013, despite the increase of soldiers patrolling the area. According to the latest census, there are only 8,400 and 9,600 white rhino, and around 2,000 black rhino left inside the national park borders. During the past 15 years, so has approximately 1,450 rhinos been evacuated from the area. However, calls for more drastic actions for the evacuation of rhinos to securer areas have been made as poaching has becomes more popular and common.

The extraction of the rhinos will be executed sometime within the coming months, however, an exact date when the procedure will be complete has not been announced.

Q&A: Can Airlifting Rhinos Out of South Africa Save the Species?

Q&A: Can Airlifting Rhinos Out of South Africa Save the Species?.