Intl Rhino Foundation

27 one-horned rhinos in Dudhwa

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:00:00 GMT

LUCKNOW: The population of one-horned rhinoceros in the Dudhwa National Park in Lakhimpur-Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh has increased five-fold in the last 25 years.

Five rhinos, including three females, were relocated from the Kaziranga National Park in Assam in 1984 under the Rhino Rehabilitation Project. Two of them later died.

The rhino population in the reserved area of the park, about 28 sq.km. encircled by electric fencing, has gone up to 27.

Compared to this, only three to four rhinos are left in the Shukla Phanta National Park in Nepal.

Tiger population in the park has remained static.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife Division) and Chief Wildlife Warden of Uttar Pradesh, B.K. Patnaik, said the Rhino Rehabilitation Project has been very successful as compared to the other rehabilitation projects for protecting endangered species.

Though a cross-border movement of rhinos, from the Shukla Phanta to the Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary at Bahraich in the State and to Dudhwa, has been witnessed, wildlife officials describe it as a temporary phenomenon. In 1985, four females from Shukla Phanta National Park were brought in exchange for 16 elephants

In Dudhwa, wildlife officials are not very keen on a very large population of rhinos. The majority of the rhinos in Dudhwa have been sired by one male. Wildlife enthusiasts apprehend that the inbreeding would affect the immune system of the animals.

“Apart from cattle breeding, inbreeding science for other animals has not developed,” said Mr. Patnaik.

23-Jul-08 8:00 AM

Poachers Terrorise Zimbabwe’s Rhinos

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:00:00 GMT

The game scouts looking for a black rhinoceros wounded by poachers in Zimbabwe’s Save Valley Conservancy could hear her snoring but could not see her through the long grass.

Eventually, by making a lot of noise, they forced the rhino to stand up and were greeted by a sight so appalling that it took them a few moments to realise what they were looking at.

The whole face of the 16-month-old calf had been removed, including her eyes, in an attempt by the poachers to take off her small horns.

The “snoring” was coming through a hole in the nasal bone. She was very weak and lay down again. One of the scouts crept forward and darted her with M99 tranquillising agent, but the dart bounced off her hide and she did not get a full dose.

She was so dehydrated that the wound on her face was not even bleeding. The decision was taken to give her another dose of M99 in the hope that she would succumb. After a short while she died.

A closer inspection revealed a snare wound on her left lower leg and a deep infected cut above it. There were also slashes from a panga on her back.

The nature of the wounds to her face suggested that the poachers had thought the young rhino was dead and proceeded to remove the horns when she suddenly revived. Perhaps that was when they had slashed her with the pangas. In any case, another of Zimbabwe’s black rhinos had fallen victim to poaching.

At independence in 1980 Zimbabwe had 2,000, one of the largest groups in Africa. But a wave of poaching driven by demand for their horns in the Far East and the Arab world has drastically reduced the population. In the Far East the horns are desired as a traditional Chinese medicine for fevers and as a sexual stimulant. In fact they are composed of tightly pressed hair fibres and have no medicinal properties. In Yemen they are fashioned into highly prized ornamental dagger handles.

By 1993 poaching had left only 370 black rhinos in Zimbabwe and it was a critically endangered species. To save the few remaining animals, a national conservation strategy was launched in which some members of the surviving population were captured and taken to national game parks and conservancies.

The Save Valley Conservancy became a primary breeding area, and today the Zimbabwean population is believed to be about 530, mostly in conservancies in the Lowveld, in the south of the country.

Raoul du Toit, manager of the World Wide Fund for Nature’s rhino conservation project in the Lowveld, emphasised that this was a “very, very precarious success” that could easily be reversed by poaching, which has been rife since so-called war veterans and Zanu-PF sympathisers invaded white-owned farms eight years ago, supported by President Robert Mugabe’s government.

The chaotic land invasions precipitated the economic decline and lawlessness that culminated in the widespread violence that swept the country before and after the June 27 presidential election run-off.

Fourteen black rhinos have been killed by poachers in just a few months. Last October three were shot dead by members of the army, armed with AK47 rifles and dressed in camouflage, on Imire, one of the country’s last remaining game ranches, which lies east of Harare. Each rhino had a guard with it but they were beaten and tied up.

The shootings were senseless: all the rhino had been dehorned so that they did not have any value to poachers.

The killing of the calf at the beginning of this month was another grim setback, though Du Toit insisted that conserving the black rhino in Zimbabwe was not a lost cause.

Most rhino poaching, he said, was being “sporadically and opportunistically” carried out by locals, who knew where they were and killed them from economic necessity. But some were linked to corrupt officials.

Johnny Rodrigues, the head of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, a wildlife advocacy group, said a new law being considered to nationalise the country’s remaining private game ranches could be the final blow. However, in a notable reversal of fortune, the authorities stopped war veterans seizing the Imire game ranch and expelling its white owners.

Rhino poaching is only one part of a grim picture of the destruction of Zimbabwe’s wildlife. The country had one of the largest elephant populations in the world. That, too, is plummeting as thousands are snared by poachers or shot illegally.

To help protect Africa’s elephant herds from poaching, a worldwide ban on the ivory trade remains in force. However, the ban does not extend to killing elephants for meat, and this has allowed the Zimbabwean authorities to increase elephant hunting without attracting international censure.

Some Mugabe loyalists have profited from the land seizures to allocate themselves hunting concessions around national parks. They have allowed professional hunters to bring in clients to shoot game without applying proper conservation rules. Even lion hunting for meat was being offered by a prominent professional hunter in a recent advertisement, although it is illegal to shoot lions for meat.

Happyton Bonyongwe, Zimbabwe’s spy chief, is one high-ranking official allegedly involved in the illegal game-hunting business. Well-informed sources said he received £1,000 from a professional hunter for every elephant shot on a concession bordering a national park. Hundreds were being shot.

Bonyongwe is blacklisted by America and Britain. He is on the sanctions list barring him and other Zimbabwean officials from travelling to the EU and America and freezing their assets.

Last week, posing as a middleman seeking to buy a rhino horn for an Arab sheikh, I was able in just a day of telephone calls in Harare to havea specimen delivered. The horn, hidden in a black plastic bag in a blue holdall, was brought to my room for inspection.

A rhino horn is worth as much as £60,000 in the Middle East and China. I was told I could buy it for between £10,000 and £20,000. I was also told how easy it would be to smuggle it out of Zimbabwe disguised in a consignment of car parts.

Further investigation revealed that the horn had come from the rhino horn store of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management, which holds thousands of horns, none of which is allowed to be sold. The seller had tried to erase the store’s identifying stamp to disguise its origins, but I could still faintly make it out on one side.

Two days later, after more phone calls and surreptitious meetings in a private house ina residential area of Harare, I was offered two pairs of tusks, each weighing 45lb, from two illegally shot elephants. The seller said that, for a fee, he could easily arrange the paperwork to export them.

I said I would get back to both sellers. It seemed strangely easy to buy horns and ivory, but behind their sale isa sickening tale of wildlife abuse, as the appalling killing of the rhino calf in Save Valley Conservancy exemplified.

RHINOS IN PERIL
Africa’s black rhino population
2008: 2,600
2003: 3, 610
1990: 3,700
1960s: 70,000

Zimbabwe’s black rhino population
2008: 530
1993: 370
1980: 2,000

Sources: International Rhino Foundation, The Rhino Resource Centre

20-Jul-08 8:00 AM

Wild Animal Park Welcomes Citified Rhino to the Country

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:00:00 GMT

San Diego, California - The San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park has added another member to a crash of Indian rhinos in its Asian Plains exhibit. Alta, a 4-year-old female born in December 2004 at the Bronx Zoo, joins 11 other rhinos in the 40-acre exhibit that is home to animal species found throughout the plains of Asia.

“The large exhibit was overwhelming for Alta at first and she stuck close to the corners and walls,” said Andy Blue, animal care manager for the Wild Animal Park. “Now she is interacting with the rhinos and the other species of deer, gazelles and cattle that are also native to India and Nepal.”

Alta is on loan to the Wild Animal Park through a national breeding program that maintains the genetic diversity of animals in zoos. When Alta reaches sexual maturity, around seven years old, she is expected to breed with Bhopu, an 8-year-old who came from a zoo facility in India. The Park has hosted 56 Indian rhino births since it opened in 1972.

Indian rhinos are often described as armor-plated, but they are actually covered with a layer of skin that has many folds. Also called the greater one-horned rhino, they are native to swampy areas of Northeast India and Nepal. Visitors to the Park can see Alta and the other animals in the Asian Plains exhibit by making reservations on a Photo Caravan or Savanna Safari tour.

The 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park (more than half of which has been set aside as protected native species habitat) is operated by the not-for-profit Zoological Society of San Diego. The Zoological Society, dedicated to the conservation of endangered species and their habitats, engages in conservation and research work around the globe and is responsible for maintaining accredited horticultural, animal, library, and photo collections. The Zoological Society also manages the 100-acre San Diego Zoo and the center for Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES).The important conservation and science work of these entities is supported in part by the Foundation for the Zoological Society of San Diego.

18-Jul-08 8:00 AM

International Wildlife Trade to be Reviewed with UN Help

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:00:00 GMT

14 July 2008 – The trade in elephants, rhinos, tigers and mahogany will all be the focus of this week’s meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Geneva, whose secretariat is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

“Innovative and courageous solutions are required to correct the spiral of species decline,” saidCITES Secretary-General Willem Wijnstekers in a statement today at the start of the conference.

“This has been recognized this week by the leaders of the G-8 group of countries, who expressed their commitment to promote a co-benefits approach that will lead to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, while reducing illicit trade in wildlife, and to improve the interface between research activities and the public and policy makers,” he added.

Among other issues, 300 representatives from the 173 member States of CITES will discuss the quantities of raw ivory stockpiled in four southern African countries which have been approved for export.

Under an agreement reached last year, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe were authorized to make a single sale of all government-owned stocks of ivory that were registered by the end of 2007.

The agreement stipulates that after these shipments have been completed no further sales are to be considered by CITES for a period of nine years.

The convention will also focus on the controversial subject of tiger farming in Asia. CITES has decided that captive populations of tigers should be restricted to numbers that would support wild tiger conservation and that tigers should not be bred for trade in their parts. This week, it will hear about efforts to combat the continuing illegal trade in tiger skins and bones, as well as in those of other big cats such as leopards.

The levels of exports of mahogany from the Amazon basin will also be discussed. CITES says the current timber verification system is insufficient and notes that new systems are under development to ensure that the harvest is sustainable and the trade is legal.

CITES is also seeking to set up a multi-national task force to deal with the problem of the illegal trade in rhinoceros horn. Rhino populations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), India, Mozambique, Nepal, South Africa and Zimbabwe are suffering from poaching. In DRC scientists fear that the rhino population has been wiped out.

14-Jul-08 1:00 PM

Rhino Horn Smuggler Does It Again Inspite of Warning

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Customs officials at the Katunayake airport fined and arrested a man attempting to smuggle a rhino horn valued at around Rs. 10 million to Bangkok last morning.

The suspect, a 50-year-old antique dealer in Fort, had arrived at the airport to board flight TG 308 to Bangkok. The rhino horn weighing around 1.2 kg was found hidden among the suspect’s garments in his luggage, Customs officials said.

Deputy Customs Director, Mali Piyasena said the same suspect had been arrested three weeks ago too while trying to smuggle to Bangkok a rhino horn valued at over Rs. 10 million and weighing around 1.5 kg. In that instance he had been given a warning and released.

Mr. Piyasena said exporting or importing such items were prohibited under the Fauna and Flora Act.

Customs said the suspect who was fined Rs. 100,000, had claimed that the rhino horns belonged to one of his ancestors who had bought them from foreign hunters who had come to Sri Lanka.

13-Jul-08 8:00 AM

Flirty Rhino Finds Mate, Home at LR zoo

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Her name is Naivasha. She’s 26 and she’s from Chicago.

Her likes: Fruit, alfalfa, long mud baths and younger guys.
Her dislikes: Biting insects and construction noise.

She’s 3, 000 pounds of flirty fun and anyone who wants to meet her can do so at the Little Rock Zoo.

Naivasha is the zoo’s new black rhinoceros. She arrived in Little Rock on June 24 from Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo in an air-conditioned tractor-trailer with a personal veterinarian and keeper who knew exactly how she liked things.

Monday was the first time zoo visitors had a chance to see the new arrival.

“We’re very excited,” said Britt Thompson, senior keeper / elephant manager. “The black rhino is actually the rarest animal this zoo has. There are less than 70 in North America and less than 3, 000 in the entire world, including wild ones. They’re very hard to get.” Johari, a 13-year-old male rhino, can’t wait to meet Naivasha.

“He’s so anxious to get to her, he was head-butting one of the doors,” zoo spokesman Susan Altrui said. “It’s a big wooden door, and he knocked it off the track.” The introduction process has been slow. First, the potential lovebirds could only hear and smell one another. Then their barrier was changed so they can see each other. Their yards are still separate but can be easily turned into one large enclosure by opening and closing gates.

Altrui said getting Naivasha has taken nearly a decade. There were a few other contenders, but they all fell through at the last minute. One rhino, for example, was thought to be pregnant, so her zoo didn’t want to let her go.

Altrui said Naivasha is a recommendation from the Species Survival Plan, a group that manages the North American captive population. Considering factors such as genetics and personality, the group makes suggestions for pairing rhinos for breeding or simple companionship.

“Naivasha is more of a companionship recommendation, but obviously they will be breeding,” Altrui said.

Altrui said the black rhino breeding project is just one of several the zoo participates in through species survival plans. Others include: white rhinos, western lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, organgutans, lions, tigers, sloth bears, Asian elephants, and maned wolves.

Naivasha and Johari have already shared the equivalent of rhino kisses, gently touching snouts investigating each other with their prehensile lips. Right now they do this through the fence that separates their enclosures. This is a very good sign, Thompson said.

“She was never compatible with [Lincoln Park Zoo’s ] male,” he said. “She’s adjusting well. She likes her enclosure. There, she didn’t like to go out except at night.” Altrui said Naivasha’s arrival coincides with the zoo’s Bowling for Rhinos event, scheduled for July 17 at Millennium Bowl in Maumelle. The proceeds will benefit wild rhino conservation, she said. Tickets are $ 25 each for adults and $ 15 each for children. Each ticket includes two games, shoe rental and a door prize, she said. For more information, or to register, go to littlerockzoo. com. Altrui said Naivasha is still in great breeding condition and the zoo staff is hoping for some baby rhinos from the pair to add to the species’ dwindling population. Rhinos have been hunted to near extinction for their horns, which have been prized for uses ranging from medicine and aphrodisiacs to ornamental dagger handles and trophies. Thompson said Johari isn’t concerned with being an endangered species.

He has been alone since he arrived at the zoo at age 1, in 1996, Thompson said. “So you can bet he’s glad he’s got a real girlfriend now.”

10-Jul-08 9:00 AM

New Rhino Arrives at Little Rock Zoo

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:00:00 GMT

The Little Rock Zoo is proud to announce the arrival of a Navasha, a 26-year-old female black rhino from the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Navasha was transferred to Little Rock as a recommendation of the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a captive management animal program for endangered species in accredited American zoos. The SSP recommended Navasha be a companion to Johari, a 13-year-old male black rhino living at the Zoo since 1996.

Navasha has moved into her new exhibit at the Zoo but has not been officially introduced to Johari, although both rhinos are occasionally able to see each other. For a short period of time, Navasha and Johari will be kept in separate stalls in the rhino barn to allow Navasha time to acclimate to her new surroundings. Once introduced, the two rhinos will occupy the west side of the rhino yard.

According to Zoo staff, Navasha is adjusting well to her new surroundings and is spending more time outside. Zoo Director Mike Blakely said the addition of Navasha is a feather in the hat for the Little Rock Zoo.

“Rhinos are incredibly endangered in the wild and very rare in American zoos. The fact that the Little Rock Zoo received a recommendation to take Navasha as a companion for Johari says our Zoo is doing something right,” said Blakely.

Navasha arrives just in time for the Zoo’s annual fundraiser for wild rhino conservation, Bowling for Rhinos, set for July 17, 2008, at 6:00 p.m. at Millennium Bowl in Maumelle. Tickets are only $25 per person for adults and $15 per person for children. Ticket price includes entry to the event, shoe rental, and two games of bowling. A silent auction featuring unique animal items will start at 6:00 p.m. All proceeds go to organizations in Africa and Asia working to save the wild rhino.

9-Jul-08 8:00 AM

Population Increase Recorded for Rhinos in Zimbabwe’s Lowveld Despite Poaching

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Raoul du Toit, manager for WWF's Rhino Conservation project in the Lowveld conservancies, reports an annual increase of about 10 percent of the rhino's population in those conservancies during 2007 despite greater poaching pressure that accounted for the deaths of 14 black rhinos in the Save Valley, Bubiana and Chiredzi districts.

"There has been a record increase of black rhinos in the Lowveld conservancies over the past six months, from 370 in June 2007 to the current population of 388. The population of the white rhino now stands at about 135," said du Toit.

close monitoring of the populations, through ground-tracking and individual recognition of ear-notched rhinos, supplemented by radio-tracking, on a more intensive basis than is undertaken for most large, free-ranging rhino populations in Africa.

"Hands-on rhino conservation is also being implemented on an intensive basis, with 96 black rhino and 28 white rhino drug-dartings having been undertaken in the Lowveld conservancies during 2007 with project staff, equipment and funding for various security-related and management-related reasons."

Ongoing technical advice has been provided to facilitate the elaboration of policy on wildlife-based land reform, through constructive dialogue with officials of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and other stakeholders.

However, this has not yet translated into meaningful progress on the ground in resolving unplanned settlement in dry areas that are unsuited to small-scale farming. These land-use conflicts have stimulated poaching, which threatens to undermine the gains in the Lowveld rhino population.

Several NGOs that are involved in supporting rhino conservation in Zimbabwe, including WWF, recently put together a document to detail their concerns about the growing rhino poaching menace.

One welcome response of Zimbabwe's Ministry of the Environment was to convene an emergency workshop of stakeholders in December last year, with WWF facilitation, to draw up an emergency action plan to tackle the threat.

The Lowveld conservancies have remained Zimbabwe's primary rhino breeding areas despite land invasions (leading to snaring risks and loss of habitats) and economic problems associated with the national situation. By the end last year, the conservancies contained 73 percent of Zimbabwe's remaining black rhino population and 45 percent of the national white rhino population.

To maintain this situation, and to also allow other rhino populations in the country to recover, the various NGOs who are involved in the rhino conservation effort are pressing for speedy implementation of the anti-poaching action plan.

This plan includes measures such as dehorning rhinos, along with the improvement of basic law-enforcement and gathering of intelligence through the formation of district-level coordination committees involving government authorities and conservancies.

The importance of this coordination has been demonstrated through the recent arrest of one rhino poacher in Save Valley.

7-Jul-08 1:00 PM

Authorities Save Imire Safari Ranch

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:00:00 GMT

A group of thugs who invaded the Imire Safari Ranch, a designated black rhino breeding area 90 miles (150 kilometers) northeast of Harare last week and ordered owner John Travers to vacate the property by Thursday morning did not return to the farm after authorities intervened.

The Imire Safari Ranch east of Harare is a reserve for 1,300 hundred animals, including endangered black rhinos, elephant, hyenas and buffalo. Endangered black rhino species are bred for release into the wild.

According to the reports, Travers and his wife Judy were threatened with death if they refused leave the ranch and had been asked to kill three antelope for the thugs to eat.

Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, intervened and asked the Minister of Tourism Francis Nhema, to save the ranch.

The minister is said to have responded promptly and saved the ranch before the Thursday deadline given by suspected war veterans.

Rodrigues issued a statement last week expressing his gratitude at the prompt response by the security services.

“It is with great relief and pleasure that we announce that the invasion of Imire Safari Ranch has been prevented for the time being,” said Rodrigues in a statement.

He continued: “Our heartfelt gratitude to National Parks who mobilized very quickly this morning, together with the police, the army and the Central Intelligence Organization.

“They are all spending the night at Imire tonight and if the war veterans attempt to carry out their threats, we are confident that they will come off second best.”

Rodrigues also said that “Travers received phone calls from the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Francis Nhema, the Minister of Defence, Sidney Sekeramayi and the Governor of Mashonaland East, assuring him that Imire will be protected.”

“On behalf of all Zimbabweans, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to Minister Nhema, Minister Sekeramayi, the Governor of Mashonaland East, National Parks, the Zimbabwean Republican Police, the Zimbabwean Defence Forces and the Central Intelligence Organization for using their powers of authority to prevent a tragedy from happening at Imire Safari Ranch,” continued the statement.

7-Jul-08 10:00 AM

Meet Dalton-born rhino Nyala

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:00:00 GMT

After taking her first tentative steps in the outside world, Dalton’s rhino calf Nyala continues to enthrall visitors to South Lakes Wild Animal Park.

She has now moved from the nursery into the field with protective mum Ntombi where she’s learning to share her world with a herd of giraffes and excitable baboons.

The park’s education and marketing manager Karen Brewer said: “Nyala’s absolutely fantastic. She’s still exploring and visitors are standing and watching her for hours.

“Where else are any of us ever going to get so close to a month-old rhino?

“Nyala has now started to copy mum, and although she’s still suckling she’s tried grazing too.”

Nyala could have a playmate soon.

The park’s other female rhino, Tala, is due to give birth within the next couple of weeks.

The births are extremely important as there are few breeding pairs in Europe.

5-Jul-08 9:00 AM

Worlds rarest rhinos make first video trap appearance - then toss camera

noemail@rhinos-irf.org — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:00:00 GMT

JAKARTA--After just a month in operation, specially designed video cameras installed to capture rhino footage in the jungles of Indonesia have twice recorded remarkable images of the worlds rarest rhino accompanied by a calf. But the success was not without incident as after a short inspection, one rhino mother charged the camera and sent it flying on one of the occasions in Ujung Kulon National Park in Java, Indonesia. Javan rhinos occur only in that park and one in Vietnam. With fewer than 60 Javan rhinos left in the wild, we believe this footage was well worth the risk to our equipment, said Adhi Rachmat Hariyadi, who leads WWF-Indonesias project in Ujung Kulon National Park. It’s very unusual to catch a glimpse of the Javan rhinos deep inside the rain forest. The motion triggered infrared video traps are a useful way to observe them and the ways they use their habitat in a more detailed way. We are proposing a test translocation of a few Javan rhinos in the near future...

First-ever rhino translocation in northeast India a success

noemail@rhinos-irf.org — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Washington: In one of the biggest conservation successes in India, two male adult Indian rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) were successfully translocated to Manas National Park on Saturday. This is the first time that the translocation of wild rhinos has been conducted in the state of Assam, where nearly all of India’s rhinos are found. The two rhinos were moved from Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, which has the highest density of rhinos in the world - more than 80 rhinos in less than 7 square miles of rhino habitat. For the next several years, the healthy rhino populations in Pobitora and Kaziranga National Park will supply individuals to start new populations in other protected areas in Assam under Indian Rhino Vision 2020. Translocations form the backbone of Indian Rhino Vision 2020 – a joint project of the Government of Assam, WWF-India, the International Rhino Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – that aims to attain a population of 3000 wild rhinos spread across...

International Rhino Foundation Offers Rhino Adoptions for Valentine's Day

noemail@rhinos-irf.org — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 16:00:00 GMT

NEWS International Rhino Foundation Offers Rhino Adoptions for Valentine’s Day Spread the love this Valentine’s Day by giving your sweetheart one of the rarest animals on earth! YULEE, FL – Flowers wilt, and that box of chocolates just could go straight to your hips! So the International Rhino Foundation is offering gift givers the opportunity to do something different for their nearest and dearest this Valentine’s Day – adopting a Critically Endangered Sumatran rhino. The Sumatran rhino, also called the hairy rhino because of its hairy body and tufted ears, is the most endangered of all rhinoceros species because of its rapid rate of decline. Because of poaching, numbers have decreased more than 50% over the last 15 years. Fewer than 275 Sumatran rhinos survive in very small and highly fragmented populations in Southeast Asia, making it one of the rarest large mammals in the world. The International Rhino Foundation helps to support the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, a...

INTERNATIONAL RHINO FOUNDATION LAUNCHES A NEW

noemail@rhinos-irf.org — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 01:00:00 GMT

NEWS International Rhino Foundation launches a new and improved web site Visit the newly redesigned website for the IRF and your ultimate source for information on rhinos and rhino conservation. YULEE, FL – The International Rhino Foundation has a new website – one that you’ll want to visit again and again! Launching on Thursday, November 29, 2007 – visitors will find an updated look for their source of all things rhino on the net. Featuring video and photo galleries and a web 2.0 guide, site visitors will find a myriad of ways to stay connected to IRF’s rhino conservation efforts. The homepage features the newly redesigned IRF logo and new organization branding. One other feature of note is the scrolling rhino news articles module – giving readers the latest headlines on rhinos from around the world. Readers can learn everything they ever wanted to know about rhinos, including their status in the wild, and how IRF programs programs in Asia and Africa help the rhino...

BUY ENDANGERED FECES TO SAVE AN ENDANGERED SPECIES

noemail@rhinos-irf.org — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

NEWS Buy Endangered Feces to Save an Endangered Species International Rhino Foundation auctions rhino dung for holidays to raise money for conservation efforts YULEE, FL – We swear we’re not making this up. For the first time in history you may find rhino poop under your Christmas tree. This year the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) is auctioning off endangered feces – poop from endangered rhino species. It’s all part of an effort to save one of Earth’s most recognizable, but most threatened wild animals. That’s right, actual rhino poop will be an auction item on the popular Web site eBay. The rhino poop auction will begin Thursday, November 29, 2007 and can be accessed by searching for rhino poop at www.eBay.com or by visiting www.endangeredfeces.org. Everyone knows about rhinos, but not everyone knows that they are disappearing from the Earth, says International Rhino Foundation Executive Director Dr. Susie Ellis. It might sound silly, but the money raised by...

2008 Wildlife Conservation Expo

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:19:48 GMT

For wildlife lovers in the San Francisco Bay area....

Wildlife Conservation Network's 2008 Wildlife Conservation Expo

The International Rhino Foundation will be participating in the Wildlife Conservation Network's 2008 Wildlife Conservation Expo on October 4, 2008, at the Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco. At the expo, you can meet conservation heroes from around the world and hear about the challenges and successes of working on the frontlines of conservation. IRF and numerous other local and international conservation organizations will host exhibits where you can learn more about wildlife conservation in the field, and purchase wildlife art and crafts from around the world. (Several IRF supporters will be selling beautiful Shona sculptures and handicrafts from Zimbabwe to raise funds for our Lowveld Rhino Conservation program there.)

Visit http://www.wildnet.org/expo2008_expo.htm to learn more.

IRF Staff & Advisors

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:39:57 GMT

STAFF Susie Ellis, PhD Executive Director Margaret Moore Development Officer Robin Radcliffe, DVM Rhino Conservation Medicine Program Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, PhD Asian Rhino Program Coordinator SPECIAL ADVISORS Dr. Dedi Candra Collection Manager Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary Sumadi Hasmaran Facilities Manager Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary M. Waladi Isnan Program Manager Indonesian RPU Program Drs. Arief Rubianto Field Supervisor Indonesian RPU Program Secionov IRF Indonesia Liaison PRO-BONO STAFF AND ADVISORS Much of the administrative and creative support for IRF is donated pro-bono (i.e., without cost) by the generous institutions and organizations represented on the IRF Board. This allows administrative costs to be kept to minimum and for other donations to directly fund IRF field conservation programs. Michelle Burke White Oak Conservation Center (IT Advisor) Jean Cha Bass Enterprises ...

Africa Programs

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:05:12 GMT

Africa is home to two rhino species – black rhinos (Diceros bicornis) and white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum). During the nineteenth century, southern white rhinos were decimated by poaching and habitat destruction in South Africa. By the turn of the twentieth century, there were fewer than 200 animals left. But, thanks to the dedicated efforts of conservationists, researchers and concerned individuals (especially in South Africa), southern white rhinos were protected and have recovered to about 14,500 individuals. They are now the most abundant rhino species in the world – their population is more than all the other individuals of all the other species of rhinos put together! – and they range throughout South Africa. Because this species has recovered so well and is now the least threatened of all rhino species, the International Rhino Foundation currently concentrates most of its efforts in Africa on protection of black rhinos, which still face a significant threat of extinction. ...

Go Green! Support Rhino Conservation

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:43:56 GMT

Wildlife conservation begins with each of us - and you too can make a difference. Make a resolution to go green! Raise Money for Rhino Conservation IRF depends on donations from individuals like you to fund rhino conservation programs around the world. You can support our efforts to save rhinos from extinction by making a donation today. Or, celebrate Earth Day or a spring birthday by adopting a rhino for a friend or loved one! You can also help to raise money and awareness by hosting a fundraising event for IRF within your school or community. Get started on your spring cleaning by hosting a garage sale and donating the proceeds towards rhino conservation! Visit this page to get more great fundraising ideas and learn about how people just like you - including kids - have raised money for rhino conservation. Shop (or Sell) for a Cause Looking for an easy way to help save rhinos? Go shopping! Before you begin shopping for your new spring wardrobe online this year, join...

Projects in the Field

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:04:25 GMT

Rhino Captive Programs
The IRF believes that development of viable captive populations is vital to the success of rhino conservation. Protection in the wild is by far the optimal and preferred method for conserving rhinos. Captive populations and programs are an insurance policy that should and can be part of a diversified strategy for rhino conservation that maximizes options and minimizes regrets. More...

Media Kit

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:28:13 GMT

Thank you for your interest in the International Rhino Foundation. Use the links below to download our media kit (in PDF format). IRF Fact Sheet The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) has been dedicated to the survival of the worlds rhino species through conservation and research since its inception in 1993. Rhino Fact Sheet Rhinos have existed on Earth for more than 50 million years and have a glorious history. 2008 IRF Brochure - NEW! Sometimes thick skin isnt enough. Endangered Feces Press Release 11-29-07 Buy Endangered Feces to Save an Endangered Species Rhino Poop Fact Sheet The Scoop on Rhino Poop

African Rhino Specialist Group, IUCN Species Survivial Commission

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:03:45 GMT

The African Rhino Specialist Group (AfRSG), like its counterpart in the Asian Rhino Specialist Group (AsRSG) is among the 100+ Specialist Groups in the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of IUCN - The World Conservation Union. Its mission is to promote the development and long term maintenance of viable populations of the various sub-species of African rhinos in the wild. Its membership consists of official country representatives from the main range states and a number of specialist members covering a wide range of skills. The AfRSG routinely develops and promotes recommended best practices for a range of rhino conservation activities and has produced an Action Plan for the conservation of rhino species. The Group has also developed a system for priority rating both populations and potential projects for their continental importance to assist donors spend their money effectively. AfRSG members have for many years been actively involved in a number of regional rhino conservation...

2007 - 2008 Donors

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:56:36 GMT

We are honored to acknowledge the individuals, foundations, zoos, businesses and others who are helping to save endangered rhinos around the world by donating to IRF’s work. Defenders ($25,000 +) American Association of ZooKeepers/ Bowling for Rhinos Anna Mertz Asian Rhino Project Basel Zoo Lee & Ramona Bass Foundation Cincinnati Zoo Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund Disney Worldwide Service EAZA Rhino Campaign Ecko LLC Peter Hall / Hunter Hall International Limited Houston Zoo Minnesota Zoo Foundation National Fish and Wildlife Foundation – Save the Tiger Fund SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund Tapeats Fund U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service White Oak Conservation Center, Inc. ...

Green Tips: Everyday Actions You Can Take to Reduce Climate Change

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:43:20 GMT

See the light. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs. These energy-efficient bulbs help fight climate change because they reduce the amount of fossil fuels that utilities burn. You will save 100 pounds of carbon for each incandescent bulb that you replace with a compact fluorescent, over the life of the bulb. And remember to turn off the lights every time you leave a room! Recycle and use recycled products. Products made from recycled paper, glass, metal and plastic reduce carbon emissions because they use less energy to manufacture than products made from completely new materials. For instance, you’ll save two pounds of carbon for every 20 glass bottles that you recycle. Recycling paper also saves trees and lets them continue to reduce climate change naturally as they remain in the forest, where they remove carbon from the atmosphere. Travel light. Walk or bike instead of driving a car. Cars and trucks run on fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In the...

Mothers Day Gift Ideas

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:16:52 GMT

Looking for a unique Mother’s or Father’s Day gift? This year, give your mom or dad a gift they’ll never forget – “adopt” a Sumatran rhino in their honor, and you’ll be giving a gift that will last for years to come.

The Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, a 250-acre complex located within Way Kambas National Park in Sumatra, Indonesia, is currently home to five rhinos that are part of an intensively managed research and breeding program aimed at increasing the Sumatran rhino population in the wild.

With a donation of only $30, you can feed and care for a rhino for 2 days; a $60 donation will pay for 4 days. Your donation also ensures veterinary care and upkeep of your rhino’s habitat, and might even help to result in the birth of a new rhino baby!

In honor of your adoption, your mom or dad will receive an adoption certificate and a photo and bio of his or her rhino, as well as regular updates on the rhino and IRF’s work to protect and conserve rhinos worldwide.

So give the gift of conservation, and help to protect the critically endangered Sumatran rhino from extinction by adopting a rhino at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary. Learn more about the rhinos available for adoption and adopt a rhino for Mother’s or Father’s Day today!

(Please submit your Mother’s Day adoption request by May 6 and Father’s Day adoption request by June 10 to ensure that they’ll receive the adoption package in time.)

Lorem ipsum survey

noemail@rhinos-irf.org — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:51:57 GMT

Objectives:

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Release Date: 31-Aug-07 9:51 AM
Expiration Date: 30-Nov-07 9:51 AM

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Boat Patrol

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:34:39 GMT

File uploaded by Kelly Russo.

BFR top fundraisers 2008

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:34:39 GMT

File uploaded by Kelly Russo.

Susie Ellis and Supriyong with rhino grazed branch

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:34:39 GMT

Inov with rhino horn scrape

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:34:39 GMT

Zen films Arief RPU at Rhino Camp

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:34:39 GMT

Rana planting tree with RPU

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:34:39 GMT

Inov points out last year's bowling trip photograph

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:34:39 GMT

Group photo with RPUs Rhino Camp

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:34:39 GMT

RPU members Waladi & Otong

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:34:39 GMT

RPUs measure rhino footprint

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:34:39 GMT

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2007-08-31T14:51:57Z

Instructor: Instructor

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