For me, walking in the footsteps of a rhino is a way of transporting myself into an ancient, bygone era. There is something about those three enormous, strangely shaped toes, the deeply wrinkled underfoot and the sound of its thick hide scratching against the brush that makes you feel as though you are tracking a dinosaur. In the early 20th century, about 500 000 of these magnificent creatures roamed through Africa and Asia and many people would have had the opportunity to walk in their footsteps. Sadly today, however, we are living in one of the last places on earth with a healthy southern white rhino population. Being World Rhino Day, we therefore take this opportunity to celebrate these magnificent animals and look to how we can better conserve them for the generations to follow.
Two southern white rhinos rest next to each other, horn to precious horn. Despite their rather brutish appearance, these animals are actually quite sociable and you can often find them resting, feeding and moving about together. Photo: Amy Attenborough
A track of a white rhino in soft sand. Here you can see the distinctive larger fore-toe at the top, bracketed by the two smaller side toes. Each rhino’s foot will have its own distinctive wrinkly pattern on the bottom.
Due to rhino horn’s ever-increasing value and demand, particularly in Asia, rhinos all over the world are seriously under threat. In South Africa the number of rhinos being killed annually is increasing at an alarming rate and where just 13 rhino were killed in 2007, last year we lost 1215 rhinos to poachers in South Africa alone. Most of these rhinos are being killed in the Kruger National Park, eventually the same greater area that the beloved rhinos we view at Londolozi could roam too.
A young rhino calf walks beside its mother on Londolozi. This baby will stay with its mother for about 3-4 years before it becomes independent. Given the opportunity, southern white rhinos breed incredibly well and if given safe areas to roam, numbers can grow rapidly.
Rhino horn has been used in traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine for as long as 1800 years, as a supposed elixir for fever and liver problems. However the demand for it was relatively low and rhino horn only fetched a price of about $250-500/kg in the early 1990s. Sadly, however, new belief systems have arisen and a rumour that rhino horn helped to cure cancer in a Vietnamese politician as well as acts as a potent aphrodisiac has caused a massive resurgence in its use. These beliefs have no foundation in western medicine and Huijun Shen, the president of the UK Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine explained that there’s no record of using rhino horn to treat cancer in nearly two millennia of Chinese medical texts. With the massive rise in Vietnamese wealth (Vietnam’s tally of multimillionaires has grown by 150% in the last five years) and the use of rhino horn as a party drug, hangover cure and status symbol, the demand and value for rhino horn continues to grow. Rhino horn now carries a whopping, $60 000- $100 000/kg price tag.With wild animals wandering around, carrying appendages more valuable than gold on their faces, you can understand why they have become such a difficult animal to protect.
Rhino horn is now worth about $60 000- $100 000/kg, making it more valuable than gold. It is for this reason that these animals have become so hard to protect. Photo: Amy Attenborough
A red-billed oxpecker catches a ride on a white rhino’s horn. This horn is made entirely of keratin, the same basic structure that makes up our nails and hair. Scientists from Ohio University have studied the make-up of the horn and have discovered that it is more than just a clump of modified hair though. Instead it has dense mineral deposits made of calcium and melanin in the middle too. “The calcium deposits make the horn core harder and stronger, and the melanin protects the core from breakdown by the sun’s UV rays, the scientists report. The softer outer portion of the horn weakens with sun exposure and is worn into its distinctive shape through horn clashing and by being rubbed on the ground and vegetation.” Photo: Amy Attenborough
All five remaining rhinos species are listed on the IUCN list of threatened species, with three out of five species classified as critically endangered but if we look at the history of rhino conservation, we know that there is still hope yet. The Southern White Rhino, the rhino we see regularly on Londolozi, has proven its resilience as a subspecies and where their numbers were as low as just 50 in the wild in the early 1900s, this subspecies has now increased to over 20,000 in recent years. Given the opportunity and a safe space within which to roam, we know that the white rhino can reproduce and flourish incredibly successfully.
One of the chief catalysts for this was Dr Ian Player, former warden of Imfolozi Game Reserve in Kwa-Zulu Natal, who launched Operation Rhino, which successfully helped to save the last remaining southern white rhinos from extinction. It is thanks to conservationists like him that we are still able to see scenes such as this on Londolozi today.
On this day, we would also like to not only celebrate our rhino but also take the opportunity to thank our rangers, trackers and guests who are a consistent presence, watching over these great beasts on Londolozi as well as celebrate our anti-poaching teams who work tirelessly to protect these animals. Although we need to be aware of the extent to which rhino poaching has permeated our natural areas, we must also remember how far we have come and what we have achieved in recent history. With these successes fresh in our minds, lets commit ourselves anew to protecting one of the world’s most iconic animals so that walking in the footsteps of these giants does not end with this generation.
A young rhino approaches a vehicle inquisitively to investigate one of Londolozi’s trackers, Judas. Despite the rhino being one of the big 5, an animal early hunters considered one of the most dangerous to hunt, they are typically quite docile creatures.
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Lovely informative blog Amy. We’ve got to do everythimg we can to raise awereness for the plight our rhinos are in. A salute to all the antipoaching units and rangers protecting these precious animals.
A beautiful article Amy and some amazing photo’s. Yes we have to do everything we can to protect them. What is of concern is that as we make progress in areas like Kruger or here in Zululand, the poachers simply focus elsewhere. The ongoing effort to educate the end user has to be the immediate aim.
Thanks for this post, Amy! What a wonderful way to celebrate rhinos on this special day.
If some people are wlinilg to put time and money into an ecosystem in order to keep their playing ground usable, why not. It’s a deal. It’s not an ideal situation but an ideal situation would be an utopia. What’s clear is that private property will make for good and likely the only effective protection. It may get violent given the difference in wealth in these regions but, you know, Africans are plenty, Rhinos are scarce (maybe I go a bit too far in my acceptance of free market economy).
Amy . . . your photos are exceptional . . . as always. Look forward to seeing you again when we return next summer.
Very informative blog Amy and I love the pictures. We must do everything possible to protect these incredible animals.
Thank you Amy for the info. Rhino’s life should be nurtured by everybody.
Lizeka