Hello [firstname],
As you may have read in the news, two subspecies of rhino have been declared extinct in the past two weeks: the Vietnamese Javan rhino and the western black rhino, which was last found in Cameroon. Even though both of these announcements were, sadly, expected, this alarming news makes everything else we are doing to save the remaining rhinos on Earth all the more important.
In the wake of this news, many folks have sent inquiries as to whether we have lost these species (and our battles) altogether. Both the Javan and black rhino species still exist – but we have lost a genetically distinct unit of each of them (a subspecies), which can never be replaced. For those of you who aren’t familiar with taxonomy, a subspecies ranks immediately below a species. Subspecies designation is usually based on characteristics that result from geographic isolation; subspecies are genetically distinguishable from other populations of the same species but can interbreed successfully with them if/where their ranges overlap.
These recent announcements are sobering reminders that despite their reputation for being tough, rhinos are quite fragile. In 1998, the first images of Vietnam’s Javan rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus) were captured by WWF camera traps. From that work, we learned that there were no more than 3-5 Javan rhinos remaining in Vietnam’s Cat Tien National Park – and only one sighting was recorded in Vietnam after 2008. In 2008, in partnership with WWF, IRF funded a project to try to learn the size of the population. “Sniffer” dogs, trained in the US and Vietnam, were deployed to find rhino dung, which was then dried and sent to Queen’s University in Canada for DNA analysis to determine the sex and number of animals. Unfortunately, it turned out that all of the samples were from the same animal. This male was found dead in May 2010 with a bullet wound in its leg and his horns removed – the last of his kind.
Like most rhinos in Africa, at the beginning of the 20th Century, the western bla
ck rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes) was heavily hunted. By the 1930s, the population seemed to be recovering, but later, protection efforts declined and by 1980 only a few hundred were left. By 2000, only 10 were estimated to survive. In 2006, investigators (including our own Jackson Kamwi, one of the world’s best rhino trackers) mounted an intensive survey of northern Cameroon, where the species was last sighted. No rhinos – or rhino signs like dung, tracks, or signs of feeding - were found. The subspecies was officially declared extinct last week.
In the face of these losses, Javan rhinos and black rhinos still persist. Javan rhinos are now in a particularly perilous position. Found only in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park, no more than 44 are thought to remain. The IUCN African Rhino Specialist Group recognizes three remaining subspecies of black rhino: the south-central black rhino (Diceros bicornis minor – the most numerous subspecies), the south-western black rhino (Diceros bicornis bicornis - adapted to dry climates and occurring in arid savannas) and the East African black rhino (Diceros bicornis michaeli – which prefers highland forest and savanna habitat).
So what is IRF doing to save Javan and black rhinos?
Javan rhinos. In addition to on-the-ground protection by Rhino Protection Units which have prevented poaching for more than 16 years in Ujung Kulon National Park, IRF’s main push is to establish the ~3,000 hectare Javan Rhino Study and Conservation Area with intensified active management inside the eastern part (Gunung Honje) of the park. Expanding the habitat available to Javan rhinos in Ujung Kulon should allow the population to increase, which in turn would allow us to eventually translocate some animals to establish a second population at a separate site, further helping to expand the species’ population and prevent its extinction. We have raised all but $100,000 for this $650,000 project, called Operation Javan Rhino.
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Black rhinos now number about 4,838, with the largest populations in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe. Over the past 3 years across southern Africa, rhinos have been particularly hard-hit by well-organized gangs of poachers. In South Africa alone, more than 370 rhinos have been poached this year. Despite losses, however, intensive protection and proactive management actions are allowing black rhino populations to continue to slowly grow across their range. IRF focuses its black rhino work in Zimbabwe, where protection efforts through the Lowveld Rhino Trust have led to a marked decrease in poaching over the last 2 years: from 87 animals in 2009 to no more than 30 so far this year. Even with this decrease, 30 poached rhinos is 30 too many and we are not by any means complacent.
In a few weeks we’ll be launching Operation Stop Poaching Now, a new African rhino anti-poaching project we are conducting in partnership with Save the Rhino. This new project will expand our work in Africa to include South Africa, Kenya, and Namibia. Stay tuned for more on this important new initiative!
In the meantime, we hope that you’ll continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us to save rhinos. We cannot lose sight of the positive news either – that thanks to concerted efforts by conservationists around the globe, rhino populations have increased by 60% since 2003. We’ve won and lost some battles since then, but we will not give up until rhinos, and other species sharing their habitat, have a secure future.
Photo Credits: Vietnamese Javan rhino photos courtesy of WWF
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