Prospective for Rhinoceros Conservation in XXI Century.
On the Rhino Day occasion, 22 September 2011.

Rhinoceros conservation activities, under today’s global conditions, are inadequate and the populations of the Asian species dropped to such a low level not to warrant their survival on a medium/long term basis.
Today Rhino horns are traded, mixed with “legal” trophies, exported and imported with permissible documents or smuggled, hidden with fantasy full methods.
The Sumatran and the Javan Rhinos are on the edge of extinction. Their rainforest habitat is quite different from the open one of the remaining three species. Extremely elusive but easily poached, they thrive in shade and feed on leaves. Unfortunately human activities, both legal and illegal, are getting busier and busier under the canopy of the continuously decreasing rainforest areas.
Their range area has been reduced, by their consumers thirst for horn, further away from the Asian Continent to spots of forest on the homonymous Sundaland Islands.
Unconventional ex-situ tactics have to be put into action, as soon as possible to support ongoing in-situ conservation.

Asian Rhinos in 2002, (Image: Nico van Strien IRF) - Asian Rhino in 2011 are About HALF.

Status

	White rhino (Ceratotherium simum) Plate by Helmut Diller At the beginning of the XX Century, due to intensive hun-ting, there were some 100 specimens of the southern form (C. s. simum) left. Towards the end of the last Century, thanks to the efforts of conservationists, its population rose to about 20.000, to drop again soon after due to renewed legal hunting. The few survivors of the northern form (C. s. cottoni) were definitively wiped out by poaching during the present century.
	Black rhino (Diceros bicornis) Plate by Helmut Diller Approximately 65.000 Black rhinos existed in 1970, drop-ped to 2.300 by 1993. This figure has now risen to 3.750 due to intensive anti-poaching activities.
	Greater One-horned (Indian) rhino (Rhinoceros unicor-nis) Plate by Helmut Diller Recovered from less than 200 specimens at the beginning of the XX century to around 2.500 today, though poachers have recently resumed their work.
	Sumatran Rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) Plate by Helmut Diller Decreased dramatically over the last 15 years because of intensive logging and poaching. No more than 200 Suma-tran Rhinos, including the Bornean form (D. s. harrisoni) survive today in small fragmented populations.
	Javan (Sundaland ) Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) Plate by Helmut Diller 30 – 40 Javan Rhinos are left in Indonesia (and possibly 1 or 2 in Vietnam).

The present scenario is dramatic.

Rhinos are harmless animals that live in vast and diverse habitats: rainforests, tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas and even deserts, according to the different species. All of them are carrying around one or two large or small gold bullions.
Current conservation activities are however not up to the present situation,
even counter productive in a few cases.

They need more help from all of us, whether professionals or not.
It’s not a question of pessimism or optimism but realism and practical intervention. Unconventional ex-situ plans and manners are now critical and indispensible if we want to obtain definite results in-situ and continue to see these noble beasts, alive.

Never, like this time, the rhinos are endangered and time is of the essence
The aim of this pledge wishes to be of encouragement to everyone involved in Rhino Conservation to do more and have the courage to start new measures, as well.
At the same time it is also a message to all Rhino detractors: whatever is being done to these wonderful creatures is not tolerable. Soon it’s going to be challenged.
No legal trade, No dehorning, No hunting.

Francesco Nardelli
torgamba@torgamba.com
Former-Director of the Sumatran Rhino Project in Indonesia.
Wildlife Conservation Consultant

This pledge is in memory of John Aspinall and Torgamba
The Legendary Conservationist
and the Sumatran Rhinoceros bull
with the committed determination to avoid that
they become the last of their kind.

The content and images of this script represent exclusively the personal opinion of the author

Links to help Rhinos now:

• Save the Rhino International: www.savetherhino.org
• International Rhino Foundation: www.rhinos-irf.org
• Aspinall Foundation: www.aspinallfoundation.org
• IUCN: www.iucn.org
• Rhino Resource Centre: www.rhinoresoucecenter.com
• WWF International: www.panda.org
• Saving Rhinos: www.savingrhinos.org

“A picture is worth a 1000 words “Frederick Barnard



Photo: kapstadt-forum

“ 1001 words is worth a picture “ Confucius

“This gift was presented to the great leader President Kim Il Sung by Robert G. Mugabe, the then First Secretary and President of the Zimbabwe African National Union and Prime Minister of the Government, in April 1985. Prime Minister Mugabe was received by President Kim Il Sung during his visit to Korea in May 1978 and in October 1980. Since then he highly respected President Kim Il Sung, the founder of the immortal Juche idea, as outstanding leader of the world revolution. In April 1985 he made up his mind to present a gift to President Kim Il Sung on the occasion of his birthday. After repeated thinking he decided to present rhinoceros' horn, a precious medicinal stuff, to President Kim Il Sung as gift, wishing him good health. Zimbabwe belonging to the subtropical climatic zone is rich in diverse faunal and floral resources. Especially in the national park in the tropical forest area are not only elephants, lions and leopards but also rhinoceroses whose number is very small in the world. It is said that people in Zimbabwe and other African countries present rhinoceros' horn only to the most respected persons as gift wishing them good health and long life as it was widely known as a precious medicinal stuff from older times and the number of the animal is few. The rhinoceros' horn presented by Prime Minister Mugabe as gift weighs 6 kilograms and 750 grams and is 63 centimetres long. Sending the gift, Prime Minister Mugabe said: "Comrade Kim Il Sung is not only the great leader of the Korean people, but also the most intimate friend and brother of the Zimbabwean people. I present this rhinoceros' horn to him as gift, wishing him good health."
Anonymous, Voice of Korea, 05/09/2011