Intl Rhino Foundation Articles RSS Feed

Three Held in Connection of Rhino Horn Smuggling

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:00:00 GMT

CHITWAN, March 12: Three people were held in connection to Rhino horn smuggling.

A mobile team of Chitwan National Park held them from the park, said chief Conservation Officer of the park Narendraman Babu Pradhan.

Similarly, an injured rhino came out of national park was vanished from Belhani-3 of Nawalparasi district, said Youth awareness campaign for controlling the poaching of wildlife.

According to a member of the campaign Chandra Gurung the rhino suddenly vanished from Tamaspur of Belhani VDC. He blamed that though they informed the park authorities to rescue it no efforts were made to rescue the injured rhino.

It is learnt that local youth have been searching the missing rhino.

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12-Mar-10 3:00 PM

Japan's Crown Prince Visits Rhinos in Kenya

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

OL PEJETA CONSERVANCY, Kenya — Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito Friday visited endangered rhinos at a game reserve in Kenya's Rift Valley before planting a tree here with Nobel Prize laureate Wangari Maathai.

The prince, dressed in casual clothes and walking shoes, started the second day of his Kenya visit with an early morning game drive at the Ol Pejeta reserve, where impala, lions and warthogs abound.

He visited rhino enclosures in the park, feeding a blind Black rhino called Baraka ("blessing" in the Swahili language) and interacting with two female Northern White rhinos, Fatu and Najin, that were donated by a Czech zoo in December.

The prince took numerous photographs of the animals and at one point walked up to a small crowd of local people who had gathered to welcome him waving flags and greeted them with a few words of Swahili.

Maathai helped the prince plant a tree at Sweetwaters camp inside the conservancy, adding to the some 30 million trees that her Green Belt Movement has planted on the African continent since its creation in 1977.

His convoy, made up of a large number of Japanese vehicles, then headed to Mwea in central Kenya to visit an irrigation and agricultural development centre.

The prince, 50, arrived in Nairobi late Wednesday for a three-day trip that follows a visit to Ghana.

On Thursday he met with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, who hailed Japan's "continued financial and technical support" notably in programmes to combat climate change.

The prince then visited a Japanese school in the outskirts of Nairobi.

Prince Naruhito said his country appreciated collaboration with Kenya and would continue to partner it in various areas of development.

On Saturday the prince will visit the national museum in Nairobi and meet with members of the Japanese community in Nairobi before flying out of Kenya.

12-Mar-10 2:00 PM

Beauty of the Beasts

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

FOR an actress to be a success, she must have the face of Venus, the brains of Minerva, the figure of Juno and the hide of a rhinoceros, declared Ethel Barrymore.

With further investigation she would have found rhinos respond to companionship, are curious and playful, and gravitate towards children. They can be traced back to the Jurassic period and are happy to wander in the wild solo or in small groups, becoming aggressive only if their territory or family hierarchy is threatened.

The southern white rhino was a leading target for big game hunters a century ago. The slaughter emptied Africa of white rhino and by 1910, when only 100 remained, a concerted conservation program was initiated to prevent this extraordinary animal from becoming extinct.

Today, there are thriving populations in protected reserves and zoos across the world.

I am fortunate to be invited to join colleagues at Wildlife Veterinary Operations of the Kruger Research Centre to take part in a white rhino capture in this South African reserve.

We drive to the airport, where a South African National Parks helicopter is being checked over for our departure. On board are the pilot and two vets, one of whom is a marksman who will dart the selected rhinos from the helicopter. It's a smooth and professional operation, almost military-like in its precision, and the care and welfare of the animals is the top priority.

South African National Parks holds three rhino auctions a year, offering about 200 animals for sale; potential buyers are vetted and must be registered regarding their suitability to buy as well as their reasons for doing so.

The price for a male white rhino is about $60,000 and the money raised goes towards conservation and research. We need to capture two males rhinos for an auction that will be taking place soon in Pretoria.

We take off and the magnificence of the vast Kruger Reserve spans the horizon.

We are heading towards the eastern border of the Kruger, where the rhinos will be selected. Poaching has increased alarmingly in this area, so the presence of the capture team and the helicopter is an added deterrent.

Anti-poaching squads constantly patrol the reserve but the vast territory is hard to cover in its entirety. Between 2000 and 2007, 120 rhinos were poached from Kruger, but in the past 18 months that figure has doubled. Rhinos are poached for their horns and according to Johan Malan, operations manager of South African Veterinary Wildlife, the contraband goes through Singapore and Vietnam, mostly to Asian customers. Horns command a huge bounty and to impoverished African communities around the reserve, the rich rewards are often worth the risk.

We spot a magnificent male white rhino and we fly towards the waiting transport truck and the on-ground veterinary team.

The helicopter lands and we join the team while the marksman and pilot take off, with the marksman in a harness strapped to the side of the helicopter.

They fly over the rhino and herd him closer to the ground team, then he is expertly darted. The sedative is finely tuned to allow the animal to revive quickly, which means the team will be able to gently walk him to the transport truck. In the old days, a stronger sedative would completely knock out the animal, who would then need to be crane-lifted on to transport, as the animals weigh up to 2800kg.

The operation goes like clockwork and the darted rhino walks towards the road track, staggers a little and then lies down.

Five vets simultaneously conduct medical checks, including taking blood, faeces samples and tagging, and it's not long before the sedative weakens and he begins to revive.

The vets are then helped by a group of 20 keepers and park employees to get the beast back on to his feet. He is gently blindfolded and secured with ropes, and with all the team pulling and guiding him, he walks slowly to the transport and up the ramp, to be settled inside.

He will be driven to the holding yards at Skukusa research camp.

There are now 10,000 white rhinos in Kruger as a result of successful breeding over the past few years, but this is countered by poaching and the human population demanding more land from the wild, so conservation work is always under threat.

Ecotourism is emerging as a growth area, opening opportunities for local communities to make a living other than subsistence farming and creating a chance for conservation to develop and to preserve what is left of the wild, to allow a balance to exist between human life and wildlife.

Heather Caddick is the president of Zoos South Australia.

12-Mar-10 2:00 PM

Port Lympne says 'guten tag' to Zawadi the Black Rhino

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:00:00 GMT

She may not be much of a looker but staff at Port Lympne wild animal park are getting quite attached to her.

Meet Zawadi, a female black rhino who is a new arrival at the park.

The three-year-old travelled around 630 miles from Berlin Zoo.

Her mother is expecting another baby so it was time for her to leave, just as she would in the wild, and Port Lympne was chosen to be her new home.

Zawadi, whose name means gift in Swahili, will join other young rhinos that have been born at the park.

Paul Beer, who has cared for Port Lympne’s herd of black rhino for 15 years, said: “She seems to have travelled quite well and hopefully she will settle in quickly and mix with our other young rhino.”

Port Lympne has 21 black rhinos, the largest breeding herd outside of Africa. The Aspinall Foundation has bred 30 calves to date, and has successfully returned five back to protected areas of the wild in Africa.

Black rhinos are critically endangered. Numbers have declined by 90 per cent over the last three generations, due mainly to poaching for their horns which are used ornamentally and in traditional Chinese medicine.

11-Mar-10 4:00 PM

31 rhinos killed in South Africa

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:00:00 GMT

Nelspruit - The slaughtering of rhinos in SA is continuing unabatedly.

According to Juan de Beer, manager of the protected species unit at the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), 31 rhinos have been killed in the country so far this year.

"Two of those rhinos were killed in the Loskop Dam Nature Reserve in Mpumalanga, and 10 in the Kruger National Park," said De Beer.

"The other provinces where poaching is rife are North West, with nine killings, and Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, with four killings each. The Free State has reported two rhinos killed for their horns."

De Beer said he suspected that poachers might be using aircraft to track and kill the rhinos in both private game reserves and national parks.

Early days

"I say this because sometimes the carcasses are found with poisoned darts in them, which shows that the animal has been darted from the sky. This can only happen if the poacher is using a helicopter."

White rhinos are being targeted more than their black counterparts, according to De Beer.

"That's because the black rhino is an endangered species, with few of them to be found, while white rhinos are simply protected and still occur in much larger numbers than their black counterparts."

According to the general manager of public relations, media and stakeholder relations at South African National Parks (SANParks), Reynold Thakuli, it was still "early days" for the hi-tech anti-poaching measures that the organisation had announced in October 2009.

These included aircraft, motorbikes and night-vision equipment for section rangers, as well as the appointment of 57 new field rangers.

"It's still too early to say it's been a failure," Thakuli said, adding that the army would patrol the Kruger National Park's eastern boundary with to Mozambique "later this year" to help curb poaching.

11-Mar-10 4:00 PM

Imports Raise Fear of China Rhino Farms

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Imports raise fear of China rhino farms

RHINOS, among the world's most endangered and iconic animals, are being farmed on Chinese wildlife reserves to harvest their horns, a report by international conservation monitors has suggested.
The monitors have found that China has imported 141 white rhino from South Africa since 2000, far more than is needed for tourism purposes.

They have also gathered evidence that the aim of the purchases is to set up rhino farms.

"The suspicion is that these rhinos are being aggregated into herds and farmed for their horns, which are valued for medicinal purposes," said Tom Milliken of Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

The revelation about China's surge in rhino purchases is part of an official report to be delivered to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. A meeting has been organised in Qatar from next weekend to discuss the burgeoning trade in threatened animals and plants.

The report says: "Since 2000, Chinese data suggest 141 rhinos were obtained from South Africa. Reports of horn harvesting of captive rhinos in China have surfaced but need further verification. "Clarification on the purpose of keeping large aggregations of captive rhino in China would be welcomed."

The discovery has alarmed British and EU officials, who plan to ask the Chinese to explain if they are allowing rhino farming.

Rhinos have suffered a catastrophic decline in numbers over the past 50 years. There are five rhino species, of which three live in Asia. One of these, the Javan rhino, is close to extinction, while the closely related Sumatran rhino numbers only about 300. However, it is the fate of the more numerous African rhinos that is causing the most concern because of a surge in poaching.

Of the two African species, black rhinos number only about 4200 while an estimated 17,500 white rhinos remain. Traffic blames the decline on demand for rhino horn in Asian traditional medicine. Despite being made mainly of keratin, the same protein found in fingernails and hair, the ground-up horn is reputed to calm fevers such as malaria.

A new threat appears to have emerged from Vietnam, where the horn is sought as a cancer cure.

7-Mar-10 2:00 PM

Elephant Killed, Rhino Injured by Poachers

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Golaghat, Mar 7 (PTI) An elephant was killed and a rhino injured by poachers in Assam, Forest department officials said today.

The carcass of the pachyderm was found inside the Dibru Saikhowa reserve forest in Upper Assam's Tinsukia district.

The tusks were removed by the poachers after killing the elephant a few days back, they said.

A full grown male rhino was found in an injured state inside Agratoli range of the Kaziranga national park today.

Agratoli forest ranger K K Deuri said a gunshot was heard late last night following which the guards swung into action.

While poachers managed to escape in the cover of darkness, the rhino was found with a bullet injury on the right leg this morning.

Three poachers were arrested by Forest Guards on February 18 when they tried to target a rhino inside the park, a world heritage site.

7-Mar-10 2:00 PM

Bones, Scales in $15m Haul

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:00:00 GMT

POLICE have seized tiger bones, anteater scales and bear gall bladders in an international operation against the use of endangered plants and animals in traditional medicine.

Illegal animal and plant products with a retail value of €10 million ($15.1 million) were seized in an operation carried out by authorities around the world, global law enforcement agency Interpol said.

Wildlife, police and customs officers from 18 countries, including Australia, co-operated on Operation Tram, which ran from February 1 to 28.

Traditional Chinese healers use tiger bone to treat arthritis, rhinoceros horn for fevers, and bear bile to treat infections.

Part of the operation was staged in Rome, where forest rangers said they had seized 30,000 products containing parts from endangered species after checking more than 3000 individuals, planes, baggage and container ships.

Forty arrest warrants were issued.

7-Mar-10 11:00 AM

Poachers Shots and Injured a Rhino

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:00:00 GMT

Dibrugarh, March 7: An elephant killed and its tusks gouged out by poachers some 20 days ago in an un-patrolled part of Dibru-Saikhowa National Park was located by a search team last evening.

The team consisting of officials from the forest department and nature lovers found the carcass in Laikapathar in the Guijan range of the national park.

“They reported early this morning from the spot that bullet marks had been found in the head of the elephant. They also found some fired cases. It is a clear case of poaching,” divisional forest officer of Tinsukia wildlife division, Aniruddha Dey, said.

A team member said circumstantial evidence indicated that the elephant had been killed some 20 days ago.

The information about the kill, according to Dey, reached late since the area is deep inside the jungle and is surrounded by rivulets and streams.

“You can say it is almost an unguarded territory. Our men hardly reach there while patrolling. This might had given the poachers good opportunity to hunt in the area,” the official said.

The forest department received the information from some fishermen who had gone to the area on Friday.

“As soon as we received the information we formed a team which included some of our men, some NGO workers and local people and set out on boats to locate the poaching site. Initially, we had information that four elephants might have been killed,” Dey said.

“The poachers had severed the head of the elephant from the body and gouged out the two tusks,” Chiranjeeb Gogoi, a science teacher of Rupai High School and an orchid researcher, who was part of the search team, said.

The group said the elephant should be around 10 to 12 years old and stood about 6-foot tall.

Another elephant died of its injuries after it fought with a member of its herd near Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district this morning. Jiten Bora, ranger, Dibrugarh Range, said the elephant had been badly wounded in the fight.

“We located the elephant and tried to treat the wounds inflicted by tusks, but it died at around 11.30 this morning,” Bora said.

Poachers shot at and injured a rhino inside Kaziranga National Park last evening.

Sources said gunshots were heard near the Rangamotia anti-poaching camp in the Agaratoli range and a search operation was launched. The rhino was found this morning with blood oozing from several points in the body.

“The horn is intact, though,” a source said.

7-Mar-10 9:00 AM

Traditional Medicines Containing Wildlife Parts Worth RM46 Million Seized

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Traditional Medicines Containing Wildlife Parts Worth RM46 Million Seized

NEW DELHI, March 6 (Bernama) -- In a well-orchestrated operation to clamp down illicit trade in traditional medicines across the globe, Interpol seized medicines containing illegal ingredients from animals ranging from the tiger, bear to rhinoceros.

Under a month-long project last month, code-named Operation Tram, the global police confiscated contraband worth 10 million Euros (RM46 million), said Interpol.

Cutting across continents, from Australia, India, Europe to Africa, national wildlife enforcement agencies, customs and police, jointly mounted the operation to stem the rising illegal trade in traditional medicines using wildlife.

"A primary goal of Operation Tram was to combat the illegal trade in endangered wildlife, which is a threat to our planet's biodiversity," said David Higgins, head of Interpol's environment crime project.

"This operation has again proved that while environmental criminals may cross borders and display high levels of organization, so too will the international law enforcement community in its efforts to apprehend those criminals," he added.

In Delhi, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, in a statement, said that for traditional medicines, India was a target state as endangered species were poached or illegally taken.

"The demand within the country for wildlife and its derivatives is limited but it has been the prime target of organised international wildlife trade," added the statement.

India is a mega biodiversity country and accounts for 6.5 percent of the world's known wildlife species.

6-Mar-10 2:00 PM

Tanzania to Seek Nod to Sell Ivory Stockpile

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:00:00 GMT

DAR ES SALAAM — Tanzania said Saturday it will press for permission to sell around 100 tonnes of elephant tusks to reduce its huge stockpile and use the money to combat poaching.

"Our go-down in Dar es Salaam is full and we need to dispose of some of the tusks to create space for new stock," Natural Resources and Tourism Minister Shamsa Mwangunga.

"Proceeds from the proposed sale of 100 tonnes of elephant tusks will be used to buy equipment and finance anti-poaching operations," she said, adding that around 15 billion shillings (11 million dollars) could be raised.

The Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES) will hold its 15th session of the conference of parties on March 13-25 in Doha, where Tanzania and Zambia intend to apply for permits to sell ivory stockpiles.

But Tanzania's neighbour Kenya is opposed to allowing the sale of ivory arguing that it encourages poaching.

According to the Kenya Wildlife Service poaching for elephant and rhino tusks has been on the rise in Africa since the 2007 partial lifting of an international trade ban to allow a one-off sale to China and Japan by Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

"We have good reasons to be presented at the CITES meeting and we expect a fair and sober decision," Mwangunga said.

6-Mar-10 10:00 AM

Animal Parts Seized From Healers

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:00:00 GMT

Johannesburg - Various animal parts of endangered species were confiscated in Gauteng during a police operation this week, a police spokesperson said on Friday.

Animal parts worth over R500 000 were confiscated in a joint operation over three days which focused on Asian and traditional healers, said Senior Superintendent Noxolo Kweza.

The SA Police Service, Interpol, nature conservation groups and others collaborated in the operation.

Leopard, rhino, lion, crocodile, elephant, python and wild dog skins were seized together with leopard and crocodile heads, Kweza said.

Police also confiscated non-SABS approved medicines and Asian medicines suspected to have been imported illegally.

A Chinese woman was arrested in Cyrildene for performing illegal abortions at traditional clinic. Though she was a Chinese-trained doctor, the woman did not have a licence to operate in South Africa, Kweza said.

A South African and a Ghanaian were fined in Pretoria for the possession of animal parts, and an Indian herbalist was fined for the illegal possession of frogs, crabs and 15 starfish.

More arrests could follow once forensic tests verified the authenticity of the body parts, Kweza said.

6-Mar-10 10:00 AM

$100K of Rhino-Stamped Coke Seized by Cops

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

White rhino is a slang term for high-grade marijuana.

But it seems the rhinoceros, that mammoth horned mammal known for its aggression, is also associated with high-grade cocaine.

A one-kilogram brick of cocaine seized by the Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement (EDGE) team last weekend bore the stamp of a charging rhino.

Although they’re unfamiliar with the rhino logo, city police say they see various stamps on coke seizures every so often.

“It’s like a stamp of authenticity,” said Insp. Greg Preston, of the EPS Organized Crime Branch.

The high-level dealers that stamped the coke want their customers to know that it came from them and it’s “good stuff,” Preston explained.

Such quality-assurance logos aren’t that common and usually indicate the drugs originate from a large criminal organization, he added.

“We’re not sure where the stamp was actually embossed,” Preston said. “It could’ve been stamped in South America, if that’s where it came from. It could’ve been stamped in Vancouver.”

The kilo of coke, valued on the street at about $100,000, was seized early on Feb. 27 from a truck officers pulled over on Yellowhead Trail near 142 Street. The male and female occupants of the vehicle had driven from Vancouver.

Police also seized a small amount of marijuana.

Fook Yong, 44, and Carly Derhak, 21, were charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking and simple possession.

5-Mar-10 2:00 PM

Friends of Kaziranga - a Film on Unsung Heroes of the Park

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:00:00 GMT

GUWAHATI: They toil hard and unsung with minimum bare facilities to protect the endangered rhino along with other animals and it is their conservation efforts that has brought fame and glory to Assam's Kaziranga National Park.

Forest guards of the Park have been long neglected but a 21-minute documentary film '....and the Friends of Kaziranga' by Assam's noted film editor Kaju is a humble effort to pay tribute to these guards who work against all odds to protect animals.

Be it natural disasters like floods or threat from both poachers and animals, forest guards work round the clock and it is entirely due to their efforts that the Kaziranga National Park has become the success story that it is today.

'I decided to make the film as there is no denying the fact that the commitment, dedication and untiring efforts of every forest guard is the key to the successful conservation story of the national park', Kaju said.

These forest guards, who stay away from their families in anti-poaching camps located deep inside the forests of the Park, face many hazards.

Till a few years ago they had to deal with these situations with outdated equipment and little monetary benefits, he added.

4-Mar-10 3:00 PM

Rhino Poaching Soars in Kenya

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:00:00 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 4 - Last year marked the highest number of rhinos ever poached in Kenya.

In an exclusive interview with Capital News, KWS senior scientist Benson Okita said that 13 black rhinos and six white rhinos were poached in National Parks and community land across the country.

“This constitutes 2.2 percent of the rhino population. Usually we have levels that we can say is tolerable if we are getting good growths and this in this instance is not the case,” Mr Okita stated.

The scientist explained that most of the Rhino killings were done using homemade guns and poisoned arrows.

He says that most of the killings took place in December last year in Mugie Ranch in Laikipia.

Currently, there are 635 black rhinos and 330 white rhinos in Kenya and most of them live in National parks in a bid to conserve them.

Mr Okita said that rhino poaching is normally done for the wrong reasons and should be stopped.

“The Rhino horn, as much as people use it for medicinal purposes has no medicinal property and this has been proven scientifically,” he explained. “So all these things that people are talking about are all beliefs which eventually affect a species that also has a right to live.”

He said that the number of endangered species have also dipped to dangerously low levels.

The country recently imported four Northern White Rhino species from the Czech Republic in a bid to encourage breeding.

According to Mr Okita, other than ensuring that the species is conserved, this will also paint a positive image of the country internationally.

Another senior scientist in charge of other species Charles Musyoki stressed the need to resolve human wildlife conflict in a bid to conserve endangered species.

Mr Musyoki said that bomas which protect livestock from carnivorous wildlife should be constructed.

He stated that there is need for a sensitisation exercise to be carried out among livestock owners on the need of wildlife conservation.

“The main problems facing the carnivores revolve around loss of the space. There is one unique one that is related to the hyenas since hyenas are despised by many African communities,” he stated.

“For this reason, they are normally persecuted because of the folk tales surrounding them and this leads to them ending up being disliked.”

Speaking to Capital News, he said that the hunting down of lions has led to the drastic reduction in their numbers.

“Today we are talking about 2,000 lions. In essence we have been losing on average 100 lions per year and what this means is that in the next 20 years we will not have any lions in the country,” he stated.

Mr Musyoki pointed out that despite their reduced populations however, large carnivores still cause problems for pastoralists and farmers and, for conservation managers.

He explained that predation on livestock by large carnivores is a serious problem because it can have a major impact upon the livelihoods of pastoralists and farmers, and, it also leads to the killing of large carnivores like lions, many of which are species of local or international conservation concern.

“Lions play a critical role in Kenya’s tourism industry for lion presence in an area is considered an indicator of its wild and natural integrity,” he said.

“The lion is thus one of the flagship species of Kenya for research and tourism and indeed one of the Big Five.”

Lions have been moved from at least 30 percent of their historical range in Eastern and Southern Africa and Kenya’s lions are no exception.

Kenya’s national population of lions was estimated at 2,749 in 2002, 2,280 in 2004 and about 2000 in 2008.

4-Mar-10 3:00 PM

Rhino's Long Wait for Miss Right

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:00:00 GMT

LUCKNOW: City zoo officials may not exactly be on the horns of a dilemma, but prolonged bachelorhood of this aging rhino is certainly making them a little restless. And why not? With Lohit all set to turn 27 next April, he is fast hurtling towards the wrong side of age and he must get his lady love sooner than later.

So, various options are being toyed with. Will adding an extra ‘h’ to Lohit do the trick? Or, will a personal visit to Patna zoo, which has six female rhinos and might part with one, be more yielding?

Although Lucknow zoo officials have sent the ‘marriage proposal’ on Lohit’s behalf to their Patna counterparts at least six times in the past, a positive response is still awaited. Still, they have not lost hope and decided to give it another try. Who knows, the seventh time might prove lucky for Lohit.

On Wednesday, they wrote yet another letter to Patna zoo asking for a potential female rhino for Lohit. Will ‘ladkiwallahs’ be interested this time? Let’s wait and watch with fingers crossed. Patna zoo has 11 rhinos with six being females (according to figures of 2008-09). "We have written to others also but more to Patna zoo because they have a good number," said Renu Singh, zoo director.

Lohit never ever had a female in his life. Lucknow zoo could not find any since April 6, 1995, when the rhino was brought here. The breeding age of rhinos is anything between 11 years and 35 years, mostly till they live. Going by it, Lohit should have a companion soon. "Companionship is must, not only for the purpose of breeding but also for animal’s well being," said Dr Utkarsh Shukla, Lucknow zoo veterinary expert.

What could be keeping the zoos from sending their females for Lohit? Could it be his violent past? Lohit had fatally hit his veterinarian, killing the man on the spot on December 19, 1995. Years later he killed another man, who had jumped the boundary and mistakenly landed into the rhino’s enclosure. "The other zoos would come to know of it only when they agree to the proposal and get his history-sheet," said Singh. Things never reached that level.

But there is no denying that getting him a partner might mellow down his violent ways. Female affection rather has always alluded Lohit. When he could have easily mated with several females around him in Dudhwa, he had to face a fatal defeat by Dudhwa’s big bully, Banke. This after forest department re-introduced him in the national park. The rhino community there was dominated by Banke. Banke never liked the much-younger Lohit, hardly 10 years old at that time, and forced him out.

Inching close to a female could not get possible for him as he underwent a long treatment, first at Dudhwa, then at Kanpur and Lucknow Zoo. Lohit was born (and partially brought up) at Kanpur Zoo on December 6, 1984.

4-Mar-10 9:00 AM

Release of Rhino Poachers Exposes Widespread Enforcement Failures

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:00:00 GMT

Gland, Switzerland - The release of six alleged rhino poachers from custody two weeks before a meeting of the largest wildlife trade convention is emblematic of the chronic lack of political will to enact enforcement efforts required to save this endangered species.

A Zimbabwean court last week granted bail to six men arrested at Bubye Valley Conservancy, home to Zimbabwe’s largest remaining rhino population, in connection with rhino poaching. Charges included illegal possession of firearms and illegal possession of a rhino horn.

The incident, part of a surge in rhino poaching in Zimbabwe and South Africa, is made worse by a lack of enforcement support in Zimbabwe in particular.

As 175 countries prepare to meet to for the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP 15) in Doha, on March 13, the increased poaching of rhinos and trade in rhino horns—compounded by failed enforcement efforts—is threatening to undermine conservation successes to date.

Most rhinos are listed in the Convention’s Appendix I, which bans trade in their parts for commercial purposes. Countries participating in the CITES convention have been tasked with combating illegal trade in rhino horn.

“Zimbabwe’s failure to live up to its obligations to CITES is unacceptable and has caused its already endangered rhino population to decline,” said Colman O’Criodain, Wildlife Trade Analyst, WWF International. “The time has come for the CITES Parties collectively to decide how to address this failure.”

This incident, coming so soon after Zimbabwe was specifically urged by the CITES Secretariat to tighten up its law enforcement to protect rhinos, will reduce Zimbabwe's ability to defend its wildlife management policies at the forthcoming CITES conference

Last year, rhino poaching worldwide hit a 15-year high due to increased demand for rhino horn. A recent report by TRAFFIC and IUCN, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, showed that since 2006, 95 percent of the poaching in Africa has occurred in Zimbabwe and South Africa. The report also showed that the conviction rate for rhino crimes in Zimbabwe is only three percent.

WWF and TRAFFIC urge Zimbabwe, South Africa and all CITES Parties to uphold the commitments they have made as signatories to the Convention and dramatically improve law enforcement, including investigation of poaching incidents and prosecution of rhino crimes.

“Rhino poachers are currently operating in an environment where they are allowed to break the law without appropriate consequences,” said Steven Broad, Executive Director of TRAFFIC. “This kind of ineffective law enforcement increasingly undermines the success of more than a decade's work of bringing rhinoceros populations in southern Africa back up to healthy levels.”

Most rhino horns leaving southern Africa are destined for medicinal markets in southeast and east Asia, especially Vietnam, where demand has escalated in recent years.

2-Mar-10 1:00 PM

Diva's for a Difference: Bowling for rhinos at Zoo Boise

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:00:00 GMT

Rhinoceroses have been roaming our planet for more than 50 million years.

Myths abound about these beautiful creatures and the powers they hold such as their horn's ability to stop the aging process, their reputation as nature's first firefighters and that they truly look other-worldly.

At one time, rhinoceroses were abundant and a common sight in their habitat. In the last century, however, due to illegal poaching and the destruction of the forests and savannah in which they lived, the rhinoceros faces extinction. Only five species of rhino are left on our planet, and if we do not take action, rhinos may be extinct in just 10 to 20 years.

Zoo Boise is joining with zookeepers around the country to raise money for the International Rhino Foundation, which works to bring these majestic animals back from the brink of extinction. And you can help.

Bring your friends and family to Bowling for Rhinos from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, March 6, at Century Lanes Bowling. It's an evening of fun, laughter and making a difference in our world's ecology to help save endangered rhinos, pin by pin.

With your entry fee, you get two games of bowling, a T-shirt (if you register by Wednesday) and a raffle ticket. The entry fee is $20 for an individual, $70 for a team of 4 and $100 for a corporate team. For more information or to register, visit www.zooboise.org or call 384-4125, Ext. 110.

2-Mar-10 1:00 PM

Manas to Get 18 More Rhinos Within 3 Months

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:00:00 GMT

Giving a ray of hope to the people of not only Assam but the international community as a whole, as many as 18 rhinos are to be trans-located to the Manas National Park-cum-Tiger Project within three months. Out of these 18, six will be brought within March next. This was stated by Sushie Ellis, Executive Director of International Rhino Foundation recently.
Talking to a group of journalists, Ellis, who was on a tour to study the situation in Manas, said that IRF is serious about the restoration of the previous glory to Manas. She claimed that IRF, along with other organisations engaged in the preservation of the nature, are trying hard to retrieve Manas from the World Heritage Site in Danger.

Ellis was accompanied by five other companions. The six- member team visited Manas to have an on-the-spot study about the facilities and the progress after the first phase of translocation in April 2008.

It is worth mentioning that the International Rhino Foundation, in association with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, WWF and the Forest Department of the State, adopted an ambitious project Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV 2020). The main objective of this project is to increase the rhino population to 3000 by the cut off year of 2020. As part of its initiatives two male rhinos were trans-located to Manas from Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary on the April 12, 2008 last.

1-Mar-10 1:00 PM

Rhino Killed

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:00:00 GMT

CHITWAN, Feb 28: Poachers have killed a female rhino inside the Chitwan National Park.

The rhino, aged around 15, was killed by the poachers for its skin.

The killing took place between Dumariya and Jarneli forests of the park, according to Narendraman Babu Pradhan, the park´s chief conservation officer.

The park´s patrol team found the dead body of the rhino on Thursday night.

Twenty-four rhinos of the park have been killed by poachers since the last rhino census in 2008.

28-Feb-10 10:00 AM