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The two African rhino species - black rhino and white rhino - have both increased in number in recent years thanks to successful conservation efforts, especially in South Africa. Indeed, the white rhino has been brought back from the brink of extinction.

However, both species are again at risk due to a huge surge in poaching to meet demand for illegal rhino horn, primarily in Asia. Countries and conservationists are stepping up their efforts but record numbers of rhinos are currently being killed.

Distribution

Just 150 years ago, Africa's savannahs teemed with over a million black and white rhinos. But relentless hunting by European settlers saw rhino numbers and distribution quickly decline.

Poaching also escalated during the 1970s and 1980s as demand grew for rhino horn, a prized ingredient in traditional Asian medicines - leaving both species at risk.

Thanks to vigorous conservation and anti-poaching efforts and an international ban on the trade in rhino horn, some African rhino populations are now stable or increasing.

However, most of the continent's remaining rhinos are found in just four countries - South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Very few African rhinos now survive outside of protected areas and sanctuaries.

And poaching is again threatening the survival of some populations.

Why rhinos matter

Rhinos have been around for millions of years and play a crucial role in their ecosystem. They're important grazers, consuming large amounts of vegetation, which helps shape the African landscape. This benefits other animals and keeps a healthy balance within the ecosystem.

Local people also depend on the natural resources within rhino habitat for food, fuel and income. As one of Africa's 'big five', rhinos are a popular sight for tourists. Ecotourism can be an important source of income for local people.

By helping protect rhinos, we're helping to conserve their habitat for the benefit of people and wildlife, helping support local communities and making sure natural resources are available for generations to come.

Poaching

The greatest threat facing African rhinos is poaching for the illegal trade in their horns, which has soared in recent years.

The number of rhinos poached in South Africa alone has increased by 9,000% since 2007 - from 13 to a record 1,215 in 2014.

Powdered horn is used in traditional Asian medicine as a supposed cure for a range of illnesses - from hangovers to fevers and even cancer.

But the current surge has been primarily driven by demand for horn in Vietnam. As well as its use in medicine, rhino horn is bought and consumed purely as a symbol of wealth.

Poaching gangs use increasingly sophisticated methods, including helicopters and night vision equipment to track rhinos, and veterinary drugs to knock them out.

This means countries and conservationists need to match this level of technology to be able to tackle the problem, alongside working to reduce demand.

Key Facts

Species

White rhino ( Ceratotherium simum), black rhino ( Diceros bicornis)

Habitat

Grasslands, savannas and shrublands; deserts and xeric shrublands

Status

Near Threatened ( White rhino), Endangered ( Black rhino)

Population

20,000+ ( White rhino), 5,000+ ( Black rhino)

Main strongholds

South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Kenya

The African rhino is under serious threat from international poaching syndicates which have intensified poaching driven by growing demand for horns in Asia.

Two species

Despite their names, both the white rhino and black rhino are the same dark grey-brown colour.

It's thought that the name 'white rhino' is a misinterpretation of the Afrikaans word 'wyd', referring to its square upper lip. Black rhinos have hooked lips.

Both species of these armoured giants are vegetarian and need to eat large amounts of food every day.

Black rhino

Also called the hook-lipped rhino due to their prehensile upper lip, black rhinos are the smaller of the two African species.

They were once found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of the Congo Basin. They are now limited to protected areas in the east and south of the continent.

About 96% of black rhinos were lost to large-scale poaching between 1970 and 1992. But effective conservation efforts have seen the total number grow from 2,600 in 1997 to over 5,000 today.

White rhino

White rhinos are bigger than black rhinos and have a squared upper lip and almost no hair. While the species is bearing the brunt of the surge in poaching, it is one of conservation's greatest success stories.

Once thought to be extinct, a population of less than 100 was found in 1895 in South Africa. After more than a century of protection and management, the species now numbers over 20,000 and has been reclassified as Near Threatened.

What WWF is doing

WWF is helping to tackle the major threats by strengthening protected areas, preserving rhino habitat, and helping to stamp out the illegal trade in rhino horn. WWF is:

Working with TRAFFIC on the Wildlife Crime Initiative to investigate, expose and crack down on poaching and the illegal trade in rhino horn - and reduce demand;

Helping to secure protected areas and create new ones;

Promoting wildlife-based tourism that helps fund conservation efforts and gives local communities an income from living alongside wildlife;

Working with communities living around protected areas to help them use their natural resources more sustainably; and

Supporting the translocation of rhinos to create new, secure populations.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is an international agreement between governments, that aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 33,000 species of animals and plants.

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The two African rhino species - black rhino and white rhino - have both increased in number in recent years thanks to successful conservation efforts, especially in South Africa. Indeed, the white rhino has been brought back from the brink of extinction.

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More than 1,000 Rhinos were killed last year (National Geographic)

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More than 1,000 Rhinos were killed last year (National Geographic)

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Rhinoceros poaching is still at crisis levels, according to the South African government, which today released statistics on rhino poaching and rhino horn smuggling in 2017. Some 1,028 rhinos were illegally killed last year, 26 fewer than in 2016 but far above the 13 killed in 2007.

"While this may look like progress on paper, it's overshadowed by the fact that rhino populations are still in critical danger," said Jimmiel Mandima of the Nairobi-based African Wildlife Foundation. "A small drop in yearly poaching statistics doesn't tip the scales against the imminent threat of extinction."

South Africa is home to about 80 percent of the world's 29,000 rhinos. Though this is the third year in a row the number of rhinos poached in South Africa has dropped-from a high of 1,215 in 2014-conservationists say these losses are still unsustainable. The decline last year was small enough that it could be accounted for by undetected carcasses in large national parks, according to TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring organization.

Rhino horn is in demand in Asia, especially in Vietnam. Some erroneously believe it has medicinal value, capable of anything from curing cancer to working as an aphrodisiac. Others use it as a kind of club drug, to be mixed with water or alcohol. In reality, rhino horn is made of keratin, the same material as hair and fingernails, and there's scant evidence that it has any effect, medicinal or otherwise. Rhino horn is also increasingly being carved into works of art.

South Africa's rhino poaching crisis is compounded by corruption and lack of coordination among law enforcement groups, says Richard Thomas, a spokesman for TRAFFIC. In a press release, South African environment minister Edna Molewa said 21 government officials had been arrested for poaching-related crimes in 2017.

"Clearly poachers will go for the easiest targets, and if South Africa's main crime fighting institutions are failing to coordinate their efforts to prevent poaching effectively, then the country's rhinos will inevitably be targeted," Thomas says.

Cross-border trade in rhino horns has long been banned, and from 2009 to the middle of 2017, buying and selling it within South Africa was also prohibited. But following a court ruling in Apri l on a lawsuit brought by rhino farmer John Hume, who owns about 1,500 rhinos, the domestic moratorium was lifted.

In August Hume held an auction for some of his stockpiled rhino horn, obtained by cutting off horn with a chainsaw, which is painless if done right. He and other proponents of legalizing the domestic trade argued it would combat poaching by incentivizing the protection and breeding of more rhinos. But because the international trade is prohibited, and the biggest demand for rhino horn is overseas, critics say that a legal trade in South Africa inevitably would result in those horns leaking onto the international black market and further stimulating demand.

Official numbers for how much horn Hume actually sold have not been released. "Rumors are it was very little indeed," Thomas says. "That being the case, I don't believe it will have had any measurable impact one way or another on the poaching statistics."

One notable change is that the number of rhinos poached in Kruger National Park, previously a poaching hot spot, has decreased by 24 percent. It's attributed to an anti-poaching strategy that combines more specialized training for rangers, improved radio communications, the use of trained dogs to track suspected poachers over longer distances, better coordination with law enforcement in bordering Mozambique.

In addition the use of new surveillance technology called "Meerkat" has been effective. The mobile system can differentiate between human and animal movements to alert rangers of possible incursions. Specialized long-range optics then can identify the exact location of the suspected poachers. This allows for early and rapid response by park rangers.

On the other hand, rhino poaching in KwaZulu-Natal, in the country's northeast, has increased. By November 2017 the province was projected to have a 50 percent increase in rhino poaching incidents over the previous year.

Across South Africa, 502 alleged rhino poachers and 16 alleged traffickers were arrested in 2017, according to the government's press release. Moving from arrests to prosecutions and convictions is an area of critical importance, the government noted.

Official 2017 numbers for rhino poaching incidents in other countries have not yet been released, but there appears to have been a drop in killings in both Zimbabwe and Namibia, Thomas says. Combined with the slight drop in South Africa, it's likely the continent overall has made at least minor progress in reducing the number of rhinos poached.

Wildlife Watch is an investigative reporting project between National Geographic Society and National Geographic Partners focusing on wildlife crime and exploitation. Read more Wildlife Watch stories here, and learn more about National Geographic Society's nonprofit mission atnationalgeographic.org. Send tips, feedback, and story ideas tongwildlife@natgeo.com.

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More Than 1,000 Rhinos Poached in South Africa Last Year

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Rhinoceros poaching is still at crisis levels, according to the South African government, which today released statistics on rhino poaching and rhino horn smuggling in 2017. Some 1,028 rhinos were illegally killed last year, 26 fewer than in 2016 but far above the 13 killed in 2007.

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Poaching Numbers | Conservation | Save the Rhino International

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At 769 recorded poaching incidents in South Africa in 2018, poaching numbers are still high. However, what does this decline mean for rhinos' future? In February 2019 the South African Department of Environmental Affairs, released the 2018 poaching numbers. Thankfully, the numbers show a decrease of 259 (1,028 rhino were poached in 2017).

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Sudan, World's Last Male Northern White Rhino is Dead (CBC)

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Sudan, World's Last Male Northern White Rhino is Dead (CBC)

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The world's last male northern white rhino has died, the Kenyan conservancy taking care of it said, leaving only two females of its subspecies alive in the world, although scientists still hope to save it from extinction through in vitro fertilization.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy said it had made the decision with wildlife officials to put down the 45-year-old rhino named Sudan on Monday because of a rapid deterioration in his condition.

Sudan was being treated for age-related complications that had affected his muscles and bones and also gave him extensive skin wounds.

Sudan had previously lived at the Dver Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic before being transported to Ol Pejeta Conservancy, about 250 kilometres north of Nairobi, where he lived with the last two females of the same species, his 27-year-old daughter Najin and 17-year-old granddaughter Fatu.

The two female rhinos were quietly grazing at the conservancy on Tuesday where staff mourned Sudan.

"It's very sad to lose Sudan because it shows clearly the extent of human greed and what sort of impact humans beings can have on nature," Samuel Mutisya, head of wildlife conservation at Ol Pejeta, told Reuters.

"If we don't take care of what we have, we will definitely continue to lose it, particularly lose other species that are currently endangered."

Unable to support his weight

Veterinarian Dr. Stephen Ngulu said doctors recommended putting the aging rhino down because he was in severe pain, with no hope of treatment to alleviate it.

"Sunday morning, he completely was unable to wake up. His left hind foot gave in completely, he was unable to support himself on it and he was not able to raise," he said.

"We decided to evaluate the quality of life and advise stakeholders that this available option would be the better option: to alleviate pain, suffering."

The rhino had spent two weeks in late February and early March lying in his pen due to discomfort from a deep wound on his right hind leg, the conservancy said.

"The veterinary team from the Dvur Kralove Zoo, Ol Pejeta and Kenya Wildlife Service made the decision to euthanize him."

After all attempts at getting Sudan to mate naturally failed, conservationists last year put him on dating app Tinder, hoping to raise enough money to pay for a $9 million fertility treatment.

Ol Pejeta said that staff had collected Sudan's genetic material on Monday, which could be used in future to attempt reproduction of northern white rhinos. It said scientists were also seeking ways to perform in vitro fertilization.

"The only hope for the preservation of this subspecies now lies in developing in vitro fertilization techniques using eggs from the two remaining females, stored northern white rhino semen from males and surrogate southern white rhino females," it said. While there are thousands of southern white rhinos still roaming the plains of sub-Saharan Africa, decades of rampant poaching have drastically cut numbers of northern whites.

Poachers were able to sell northern white rhino horns for $50,000 US per kilo, making them more valuable than gold. Kenya had 20,000 rhinos in the 1970s, falling to 400 in the 1990s. It now has 650, almost all of which are black rhinos.

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Sudan, world's last male northern white rhino, is euthanized | CBC News

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The world's last male northern white rhino has died, the Kenyan conservancy taking care of it said, leaving only two females of its subspecies alive in the world. Scientists still hope to save it from extinction with in vitro fertilization.

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The World's Last Male Northern White Rhino is Dead. Now What? (CNN)

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The World's Last Male Northern White Rhino is Dead. Now What? (CNN)

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For nearly a decade, Sudan lived in a 700-acre enclosure at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, against the backdrop of the hulking Mount Kenya.

Armed guards protected him 24 hours a day because he belonged to a subspecies on the verge of extinction from poachers. Rhinos are targeted by poachers fueled by the belief in Asia that the horns cure various ailments.

The need to preserve the northern white rhino is dire -- there are no known animals left in the wild.

Old and frail

At 45, Sudan was elderly in rhino years. His daughter Najin, 28, and granddaughter, Fatu, 17, are considered spring chickens.

The elderly rhino was fraught with problems normally associated with age. During his final years, he was not able to naturally mount a female and suffered from a low sperm count, which made his ability to procreate difficult.

Najin could conceive, but her hind legs are so weak, she may be unable to support a mounted male.

"There has been recorded mating between different pairs over the last few years, but not conceptions," George Paul, the deputy veterinarian at the conservancy, said. "Based on a recent health examination conducted, both animals have a regular estrus cycle, but no conception has been recorded."

And if one is not recorded soon, the beloved animal will go extinct.

Alternative methods to conceive

In a race against time, international experts are resorting to science to try to sustain the subspecies.

The northern white rhino cannot mate with a black rhino, but there is a chance it could mate with a southern white rhino, Paul said. While southern white rhinos are not endangered -- Ol Pejeta has 19 -- they are a different subspecies from the northern white rhino genetically. Though the offspring would not be 100% northern white rhino, it would be better than nothing, experts say.

A committee at the conservancy is also looking at various alternative reproduction techniques, including in vitro fertilization.

"In other countries, success has been achieved with embryo transfer in a different rhino species, thus that, as a technique, can be presupposed to be the most promising," Paul said. "However, consultations are ongoing amongst different reproductive technique experts on the way forward."

Researchers were able to save some of Sudan's genetic material in the hopes of successfully artificially inseminating one of the two females left, said Elodie Sampere, a representative for Ol Pejeta.

They are also retrieving and storing eggs from southern white rhino females in European zoos, and fertilizing them in in vitro conditions, Sampere said. Experts will also retrieve eggs from the last two northern white rhino females in Kenya.

"The plan is now to isolate the potential southern white rhino female surrogates from any males, ensuring they are 'empty' and ready for receiving a northern white rhino embryo in 2018," Sampere said.

Countdown to extinction

Paul said he's optimistic.

"Realistically, we are looking at these animals dying in the next decade or so. But hopefully, using artificial methods of reproduction, we might be able to bring them back in the future," he said. "This might mean that it will happen when the current animals are already deceased, but it could happen."

The conservancy acquired the northern white rhinos -- two males and two females -- in 2009 from a zoo in the Czech Republic. Suni, the other male northern white rhino at the conservancy, died last year.

It's now up to Najin and Fatu to help keep the subspecies alive.

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the world's last male northern white rhino is dead. now what?  - cnn

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The world's last male northern white rhino is dead. Now what?

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For nearly a decade, Sudan lived in a 700-acre enclosure at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, against the backdrop of the hulking Mount Kenya. Armed guards protected him 24 hours a day because he belonged to a subspecies on the verge of extinction from poachers.