Intl Rhino Foundation

Time To Get Rolling Again For Rhinoceros Conservation

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:00:00 GMT

(HOUSTON) July 1, 2008… Bowling is one of the most popular indoor sports in the U. S. with more than 2.5 million bowlers nationwide. Rhinos are one of the world’s most endangered species. Only 17,500 of these marvelous creatures survive in the wild with another 1,200 in zoos and sanctuaries. If you like bowling and you’ve got a soft spot in your heart for rhinos, then the Houston Zoo has a deal for you – Bowling for Rhinos! The Houston Zoo chapter of the American Association of Zookeepers (AAZK) is sponsoring the 18th annual Bowling for Rhinos (BFR) conservation fundraiser on Friday, July 25 from 6-10 p.m. at Palace Lanes, 4191 Bellaire Blvd. The night includes unlimited bowling for four hours, a cool BFR 2008 event T-shirt, free shoe and ball rental, and fun for the whole family. Tickets are $25 per person for adults and $10 per person for children ages 5-12. Visit http://www.houstonzoo.org/bfr/ for more details. Bowling for Rhinos is a great way to spend a hot and humid Houston...

2-Jul-08 8:00 AM

Bowling for Rhinos comes to Battle Creek for the first time!

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:00:00 GMT

The Battle Creek Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc (AAZK) is proud to announce their first annual Bowling for Rhinos event. It will take place on July 25, 2008 from 7 to 10 pm at Nottkes Family Fun Center in Battle Creek. For more information visit the Battle Creek AAZK website at www.battlecreekaazk.org or call Binder Park Zoo to speak with an AAZK member (269) 979-1351. Bowling for Rhinos is one of the only nationwide fundraisers that give 100% of all donations directly to animal conservation. Zoo Keepers from all over the country donate their time and skills to run this event so that every penny raised can go to help endangered rhinos, cheetahs, elephants, zebras, tigers, and hundreds of other animal species threatened with extinction. Since 1990, this event has raised $2.9 million nationally. In Kenya, Bowling for Rhinos supports the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy where donations help protect both black and white rhinos and most of the other species native to...

2-Jul-08 8:00 AM

Namibian Government to Auction Eight Live Black Rhinos

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Windhoek, Namibia - The Namibian government said Monday it would auction eight live black rhinos to foreign buyers and hundreds of other wildlife to raise funds for conservation purposes. Auction of live animals was approved by government to take place every two years, Fanuel Demas, the director of scientific services in the ministry of environment and tourism, said.

Demas said that government would on July 25 auction five female and three male black rhino from the Waterberg Plateau Park and the rhinos will be sold for export only.

"Fragmented privately-owned and state owned rhino will result in biological management complications of this flagship species, which is tightly controlled through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of fauna and flora," Demas said.

Government also said it would auction 40 disease-free buffalo to foreign buyers.

Demas said 90 black-face impala would also be auctioned to local buyers, adding that this would provide an opportunity for the local wildlife sector to acquire breeding stock for establishing viable populations.

Government will also sell 16 sable from the Etosha national park and 21 giraffe from the Waterberg Plateau park.

Demas said that at its last live wildlife auction held two years ago, government earned about US$1.5 million.

30-Jun-08 9:00 AM

Poaching Takes Its Toll on One-horned Rhinoceros in India

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Guwahati: Indias one-horned rhinoceros faces an uncertain future in the countrys northeast, its main home, because of unending poaching and shrinking of the habitat so vital for the animals survival. Last year alone, poachers killed at least 20 rhinoceroses in and around Assams sprawling Kaziranga national park. This year, the toll has already reached seven, officials said. The 430-sq km park, with around 1,800 rhinoceroses, has the worlds largest population of this primitive mammal. Two other reserves in Assam, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Orang National Park, have around 150 rhinoceroses. Three rhinoceroses were killed in Orang this year. Countrywide, the rhino population could be just over 2,200, including in West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, said Prabal Sarkar of the NGO Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). The rhino once roamed almost all over the Gangetic plain. Its numbers fell sharply over the decades because of depleted grassland habitat and frequent hunting - to...

29-Jun-08 8:00 AM

India’s Dndangered Rhinoceros Battles for Survival

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Guwahati, June 29 (IANS) India’s one-horned rhinoceros faces an uncertain future in the country’s northeast, its main home, because of unending poaching and shrinking of the habitat so vital for the animal’s survival. Last year alone, poachers killed at least 20 rhinoceroses in and around Assam’s sprawling Kaziranga national park. This year, the toll has already reached seven, officials said. The 430-sq km park, with around 1,800 rhinoceroses, has the world’s largest population of this primitive mammal. Two other reserves in Assam, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Orang National Park, have around 150 rhinoceroses. Three rhinoceroses were killed in Orang this year. Countrywide, the rhino population could be just over 2,200, including in West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, said Prabal Sarkar of the NGO Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). At the turn of the sanctuary, the rhino roamed almost all over the Gangetic plain. Its numbers fell sharply over the decades because of depleted...

29-Jun-08 8:00 AM

The Rhino With the World at His Feet

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Mohan, thought to be the worlds oldest Indian rhino and the first to wear shoes, turns 39 this month. But as he kicks back and relaxes in a Florida old-age home, his former caretakers, especially in Washington, cant help but reminisce about their time together, like former groupies in a rock stars shadow. He is one of the icons, says Ron Magill, the communications director for the Miami Metrozoo, who began caring for Mo, as his fans call him, in the early 80s. Thats kind of the highlight of my career, Randy Pawlak, a farrier in Round Hill, says about fashioning shoes for Mo in 2003. It was probably the neatest thing Ive ever done. Mo was born in 1969 and captured out of the wild by a team that included Lowell Thomas, the worlds first roving newscaster, who filmed the 1919 documentary Lawrence in Arabia during World War I. The team gave Mohan to the 39-acre Crandon Park Zoo in Key Biscayne, Fla. Ever since, he has been in the limelight. And in July hell be in bookstores in The...

24-Jun-08 8:00 AM

Namibia Rhino Hunt Controversy

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:00:00 GMT

June 2008. A controversy is boiling in Namibias conservation circles. According to CITES, the black rhino is a critically endangered species. However CITES has also relaxed its ban on hunting of the black rhino. The Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the owner of all black rhinos in Namibia, intends to use the opportunity to shoot five post-reproductive bulls and any problem males. According to sources, the Government sees it as a matter of straight-forward economics as the licences will generate a profit. This profit far exceeds the cost of relocating the rhinos. However, unsurprisingly, conservationists disagree with the logic. The flipside of the coin is the investment that has been made in conservation of the species. Rhinos have been protected, rural communities have been co-opted into the scheme, conservancies that benefit these communities have been established, and the black rhinos have become a feature on the Namibian landscape. Income generation from live...

23-Jun-08 10:00 AM

National Conservation Strategy To Boost Black Rhino Population

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Kenya has unveiled a new national strategy to increase the number of the endangered rhino in the next five years. Kenya Wildlife Services have confirmed that their Conservation and Management Strategy for the Black Rhino in Kenya and Management Guidelines for the White Rhino in Kenya seeks to raise the number of black rhinos from the current 540 black rhinos to 700 by 2011. The strategy is part of a bigger plan to raise the number of rhinos in Kenya to 2000 in the next 25 years after they were nearly wiped out by poachers in the 1970s and 80s. Kenya will also explore regional cooperation through a proposal seeking the establishment of an East African Rhino Management Group that will set protocols for exchanging and managing the eastern black rhinos within East Africa. Since a Presidential decree in 1985 to establish a rhino conservation programme after a massive poaching crisis, Kenya has become a major player in Africa with the third largest black rhino population after South...

23-Jun-08 10:00 AM

Dublin Welcomes Latest Addition to Zoo Family

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Dublin Zoo has welcomed a new and exciting addition to its family with the birth of a female Southern White Rhino.

The white rhino, which was born last week, is listed as ‘near threatened’ to ‘critically endangered’ - depending on the sub species.

The female calf weighed in at just over 70kg at birth and managed to stand up on all fours just minutes after she was born.

As its mother Ashanti is one of six white rhinos at the zoo, keepers were forced to employ a novel approach to monitor her development.

When they discovered she was pregnant late last year, keepers added different colour glitter to the rhino feed, which allowed them to identify Ashanti’s dung and test it for increased hormone levels.

According to a spokesperson for the zoo, the birth was completely natural and the calf is thriving.

“We are absolutely delighted with our new arrival,” said zookeeper Helen Clarke.
“One of our keepers, Ken Mackey, had been keeping a very close eye on Ashanti over the past month, particularly as we knew that she was due to give birth soon. He would visit her at 9.30am every day and that Wednesday when he arrived she started to go into labour.

Helen added: “It’s a very significant birth as it’s the first rhino born at Dublin Zoo in 14 years. As you can imagine it has created huge excitement for everyone here. The calf is really strong and she is suckling well, which is fantastic. We look forward to introducing her to all our visitors over the coming weeks.”

According to Ms Clarke the new addition is a significant birth for the zoo as “many years of patience, plotting and planning” went into the selection of the rhinoceros herd.

Visitors to the zoo will be able to see the baby rhino and her mother Ashanti at the African Plains.

Dublin Zoo has seen a number of births in recent months, with a bull elephant calf born in February and a female elephant calf, Asha, born in May of last year.

20-Jun-08 10:00 AM

Poaching Leaves Big Five With Nowhere to Go

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Peace in the Congo has not yet led to safety for Africas Big Five, and the meltdown in Zimbabwe is not helping either. The northern white rhino could be extinct already as a result of poaching in north-east Democratic Republic of Congos (DRC) Garamba National Park. And black rhino numbers have increased in several countries except Zimbabwe. The Swiss-based International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said there were just 30 white rhino left in April 2003, and only four confirmed animals as of August 2006. Worryingly, recent fieldwork has so far failed to find any presence of these four remaining rhinos, Dr Martin Brooks, head of its African Rhino Specialist Group, said in a report. Unless animals are found during the intensive surveys that are planned under the direction of the African Parks Foundation, the sub-species may be doomed to extinction. White rhinos are targeted by poachers for their horns, which fetch high prices in Yemen, where they are made into dagger...

19-Jun-08 9:00 AM

International Rhino Foundation Newsletter

noemail@rhinos-irf.org — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:35:54 GMT

Hello [firstname], I’ve just recently returned from Indonesia with the Bowling for Rhinos winners from the Woodland Park Zoo and the Cleveland Zoo, Rana Bayrakci and Heather Strawn, as well as Kerry Crosbie (Asian Rhino Project), Nat Sullivan (Auckland Zoo), and Mark Sainsbury (Save the Rhino). Each year, the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) chapters in zoos across the country hold Bowling for Rhinos fundraisers - IRF sponsors an annual Indonesia trip for the third and fourth place winners, giving them the opportunity to spend time with our Rhino Protection Units (RPUs) in Way Kambas, Bukit Barisan, and Ujung Kulon National Parks, and to visit the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary (SRS). Bowling for Rhinos has raised almost...

19-Jun-08 8:35 AM

Poachers Kill Last Four Wild Northern White Rhinos

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:00:00 GMT

The last four northern white rhinoceros remaining in the wild are feared to have been killed for their horns by poachers and are now believed to be extinct in the wild. Only a few are left in captivity but they are difficult to breed and the number is so low that the species is regarded as biologically unviable. The outlook for other types of rhino, including the endangered African black rhino, was more optimistic yesterday however. Figures released by the IUCN, the international conservation body that assesses threats to wildlife, showed that the number of wild rhinos had increased to its highest level for decades. The northern white rhino, Ceratotherium simum cottoni, has been struggling for suvival since the 1970s, when numbers dropped from about 500 to 15. A slight recovery was recorded in 2003 when 30 were counted but by 2006 only four were left. All of them were recorded in the Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo but war and civil unrest in the region has...

17-Jun-08 8:00 AM

Rhinos on the Rise in Africa but Northern White Nears Extinction

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Gland, Switzerland, 17.06.2008 - African rhinos have reached record numbers for the first time in decades, but the Northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) is on the brink of extinction. The figures, complied by the IUCN Species Survival Commission African Rhino Specialist Group, show there are now more than 21,000 African rhinos. According to the results, the white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) has increased from 14,540 in 2005 to 17,480 in 2007. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(TM) , but one of its two subspecies, the Northern white rhino, is listed as Critically Endangered and is on the brink of extinction. It is restricted in the wild to Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the only remaining population was reduced by poaching from 30 in April 2003 to only four confirmed animals by August 2006. Worryingly, recent fieldwork has so far failed to find any presence of these four remaining rhinos, says Dr...

17-Jun-08 8:00 AM

Vietnam Police Arrest Two for Smuggling Rhino Horns

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Hanoi - Police in Vietnam have arrested two people for smuggling rhino horns and tiger parts, marking the country's second rhino horn smuggling arrest this week, a police officer said Friday. Dau Duc Dung, 31, and Nguyen Thi Loan, 42, were arrested Wednesday at a house in Hanoi with six pieces cut from rhino horns, weighing a total of 1.2 kilograms, according to Nguyen Xuan Dung, a senior police officer in the district.

In Loan's handbag, the police found 10 tiger claws, one tiger fang and two dried bull gallbladders.

The police said Dung and Loan told them they had bought the rhino horn pieces for some 350 million dong (21,000 dollars), and that they were about to sell them for 400 million dong (24,000 dollars).

"We don't know yet where exactly the rhino was killed," Dung said. "Further investigation is underway."

Last Saturday, Vietnamese police arrested a man who illegally brought five rhino horns weighing nearly 18 kilograms into Vietnam in his airline luggage.

Tran Van Lap, 48, told police that four of the horns came from two white rhinos he had hunted in South Africa. He said he had bought the fifth from a South African local for 2,000 dollars.

13-Jun-08 2:00 PM

Taronga Western Plains Zoo's Baby White Rhino Named

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:00:00 GMT

After getting by without a name for the first two months of its life, Dubbo's baby white rhino finally has its own moniker - Nadira.

The Swinburn family from Castle Hill chose the name, which means "unusual" in Swahili, in The Daily Telegraph's Name a Rhino reader competition.

Mum Catherine, whose husband Robert died of cancer two years ago, and her three sons have special memories of their last trip to Taronga Western Plains Zoo in 2005.

But they are looking forward to making new memories when they return to claim their prize, this time sleeping overnight in a luxury Zoofari tent lodge.

"It's wonderful," Mrs Swinburn, a secretary, said.

"It holds a lot of good memories for us so we're very happy to have won and we're looking forward to going back."

The family went through an entire website of African names before coming up with the winning entry, which they chose because southern white rhinoceroses are rare and different.

The animal-loving family have a dog, fish and a lizard of their own, but have a particular soft spot for rhinos.

"They're very rare and they need to be protected," Mrs Swinburn said.

"I think the zoo is just wonderful the way it looks after the animals and the breeding program there is excellent."

The winning name had to be in keeping with her African heritage like her mother Umqali, (which means aggressor) and her father Umfana (little boy).

13-Jun-08 11:00 AM

What a Big Baby!

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:00:00 GMT

A rare white rhino calf – named Nyala – has been born at a wildlife park in South Cumbria.
Mother Ntombi gave birth on Sunday afternoon at South Lakes Wild Animal Park in Dalton-in-Furness following a 16-month pregnancy.

The calf was not immediately named as workers did not want to disturb mother and baby to check its gender.

The birth is extremely important as there are few breeding pairs in Europe, according to a park spokesman.

The park's other female rhino, Tala, is also due to give birth in August.

Normally the keepers name the park's new arrivals, but because of the rarity of a rhino birth, park director and owner, David Gill, named the rhino later.

A spokesperson said: "This is the biggest and most important birth we have ever had at the park."

Park officials believe that there may have only been two white rhinos born across Europe this year.

According to global conservation organisation WWF, there are only 14,538 white rhinos left in the world.

13-Jun-08 10:00 AM

Rhino Crusader Goes International

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:00:00 GMT

One of the most visible faces of “save the rhino” campaign in Assam is ready to take his crusade beyond Indian shores.

Bibhab Talukdar, who waged a relentless battle against poachers, has been offered a position in the Internat ional Rhino Foundation, and needless to say, he has accepted it.

Talukdar, in fact, will be the first person from India to the join the international foundation dedicated to conser vation and research on the endangered species.

“It is my pleasure to announce that Talukdar will join the Interna tional Rhino Foundation as the Asian rhino co-ordinator this month. The position has been slightly reconfigured to include both Southeast and South Asian rhino range states,” Susie Ellis, executive director of International Rhino Foundation, said in a statement.

She said Talukdar would split his time between Indonesia and India, working full time in Indonesia for four months a year and the other eight months in India.

Of course, he will continue to support Aaranyak, an NGO dealing with environment, where he worked as the secretary general.

Talukdar, in fact, had always helped the state by bringing in funds from across the world to save rhinos.

“The new position with the foundation will give me an opportunity to increase my area of work in the international arena. This is an added responsibility and not to mention the challenges of working with Javan and Sumatran rhino conservation in Southeast Asia. I have accepted the position to offer my contribution towards conservation of three Asian rhino species,” he said.

12-Jun-08 10:00 AM

Nine Arrested in Anti-poaching Drive in Nepal

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:00:00 GMT

KATHMANDU: Nine persons, including a soldier, have been arrested and security tightened in a drive to curb poaching after 11 rhinos were killed over the past ten months at Bardia National Park in western Nepal.

"In the coming days, security will be tightened around the National Park in order to curb poaching and wildlife smuggling," Annapurna Das, Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, said.

Security personnel have arrested a soldier and four deserters of the Nepal Army in connection with the recent poaching of two rhinos in Chitawan. The police had earlier arrested five other poachers involved in rhino killing and illegal wildlife trade from Bardia.

Fadindra Kharel, chief conservation officer of the BNP, had earlier said that a census conducted last year had showed that there were 31 rhinos inside the park, but now 18 to 20 were left.

10-Jun-08 10:00 AM

Vietnam Police Arrest Man for Smuggling Rhino Horns

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Hanoi - Police arrested a man accused of smuggling five rhinoceros horns weighing nearly 18 kilograms into the country, an official said Tuesday. Tran Van Lap, 48, was arrested in the northern province of Lao Cai last Saturday on charges of "illegal cross-border transportation of goods," and was brought to Ho Chi Minh City on the same day for interrogation, according to Ly The Son, a senior police officer with Ho Chi Minh City's economic police department.

Customs authorities at the city's Tan Son Nhat Airport detected five horns believed to come from rhinos in Lap's checked luggage as he arrived in the city on a flight from South Africa in January, according to the police.

The horns were immediately seized, but Lap was not arrested until the horns were confirmed to belong to white rhinos. The horns are worth an estimated 200,000 dollars.

Lap confessed to the police that four of the horns were from two white rhinos he had hunted in South Africa. He said he had bought the fifth from a South African local for 2,000 dollars, the police officer said.

"Lap is a photographer who works near Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, and I don't know how he could afford to go hunting in South Africa," Son said. "Further investigation is underway."

Limited white rhino hunting is allowed in South Africa, and hunters with proper documentation can keep horns as trophies in Vietnam. But many rhino horns brought into Vietnam from South Africa are sold to merchants to be crushed into powder for use in Eastern traditional medicines, which is illegal.

Vietnamese press reports said Lap had documents for the four horns he claimed to have hunted, but not for the fifth. Police reportedly believe his certificates for the first four horns are fake.

According Vietnam's penal code, illegal cross-border transportation of goods is subject to a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

It was at least the second time in six months police have seized contraband rhino horn in Vietnam. In January, police raiding a house used by wildlife traffickers ring in Hanoi discovered a kilogram of rhino horn, along with four frozen tiger carcasses, 12 live bears, 10 bear feet, two elephant tusks, 16 kilos of animal bone paste, and two live tigers that had been drugged and stuffed into canvas bags for transportation.

10-Jun-08 10:00 AM

New Regulations to Control Trade in Rhino Horn

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Emergency regulations to control illegal trade in rhino horns are due to be published later this week, to plug gaping holes in South Africa`s wildlife trade and export laws. The measures will include a national moratorium on the sale or export of rhino horns, unless the owners can prove that the horns were acquired legally. A senior official said the interim measures were expected to be published in the New regulations to control trade in rhino horn Government Gazette this Friday, but stressed that it was not expected to affect authorised professional trophy hunts. Last week, Environmental Affairs and Tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk announced that there had been a dramatic increase in the illegal trade of rhino horn and the hunting of white rhinos, which was directly linked to organised crime. As a first step to control the problem, he had decided to impose a national freeze on the trade in individual rhino horns to enable SA National Parks and provinces to apply...

10-Jun-08 10:00 AM

Marthinus Puts Freeze on Rhino Horn Trading

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Some hunters have been abusing permits to shoot rhinos and export illegally obtained rhino horns - probably poached and directly linked to organised crime - as hunting trophies. This was revealed by Environmental Affairs Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk last week when he announced a national moratorium on the trade in individual rhino horns. Speaking during his budget vote in the National Council of Provinces, he said the moratorium would allow enforcement officers of SA National Parks and the various provincial conservation agencies to align protocols for dealing with the trade in rhino horns and ensure these protocols complied with biodiversity conservation requirements. Explaining the background to the moratorium, Van Schalkwyk said that despite tremendous successes in protecting and expanding the countrys conservation network, there had been a dramatic increase both in the illegal trade in rhino horn and in the hunting of white rhino. During investigations into rhino...

9-Jun-08 8:00 PM

Hornless Body of Rhino Found

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Guwahati, June 6: The first thought that came to forest officials’ mind was poaching. But when the post-mortem of the male rhino threw up the surprising fact that the animal had died a natural death, the second thought was: where did the horn go?

The carcass of a rhino minus its horn was found at Singorijan beel near Dhuramari anti-poaching camp in the Agaratoli range of Kaziranga National Park.

Forest minister Rockybul Hussain has ordered the chief conservator of forests (wildlife), B.S. Bonal, to conduct an inquiry into the incident. Bokakhat sub-divisional police officer Nobin Singh said the post-mortem conducted this afternoon confirmed that it had died a natural death.

Singh said circumstantial evidence suggested that the horn was not taken away by poachers since they would not have known that a rhino had died inside the park.

“It is not an open-and-shut case,” he said, adding that sharp weapons had been used to take out the horn.

Singh quoted the veterinarian who had conducted the post-mortem, and said the rhino died three days ago because of old age.

Park director S.N. Borgohain said: “Horns do fall off some time after rhinos die... but this is different.”

He said it could be the work of some fishermen who frequent the park illegally, especially during the monsoon when the park is flooded. “Some fishermen may have seen the rhino carcass and gouged out the horn,” he said.

However, a former park official said it was most unlikely that fishermen would dare to gouge out the horn. “What would they do with it? They would have no idea where to sell the horn.”

He added that it was not easy for fishermen to enter the park with anti-poaching camps located at frequent intervals.

Some NGOs working in the field of wildlife conservation had recently alleged that forest department personnel could also be involved in poaching.

6-Jun-08 8:00 PM

Death Natural, Horn Sawn Off

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Guwahati, June 6: The first thought that came to forest officials’ mind was poaching. But when the post-mortem of the male rhino threw up the surprising fact that the animal had died a natural death, the second thought was: where did the horn go?

The carcass of a rhino minus its horn was found at Singorijan beel near Dhuramari anti-poaching camp in the Agaratoli range of Kaziranga National Park.

Forest minister Rockybul Hussain has ordered the chief conservator of forests (wildlife), B.S. Bonal, to conduct an inquiry into the incident.

Bokakhat sub-divisional police officer Nobin Singh said the post-mortem conducted this afternoon confirmed that it had died a natural death. He said circumstantial evidence suggested that the horn was not taken away by poachers since they would not have known that a rhino had died inside the park.

“It is not an open-and-shut case,” he said, adding that sharp weapons had been used to take out the horn. Singh quoted the veterinarian who had conducted the post-mortem, and said the rhino died early three days back because of old age.

Park director S.N. Borgohain said, “Horns do fall off some time after rhinos die... but this is different,” he said.

He said it could be the work of some fishermen who frequent the park illegally, especially during the monsoon when the park is flooded. “Some fishermen may have seen the rhino carcass and gouged out the horn,” he said.

However, a former park official said it was most unlikely that fishermen would dare to gouge out the horn. “What would they do with it? They would have no idea where to sell the horn.” He added that it was not easy for fishermen to enter the park with anti-poaching camps located at frequent intervals.

Some NGOs working in the field of wildlife conservation had recently alleged that forest department personnel could also be involved in poaching.

The state government has already moved the CBI to investigate the cases of rhino poaching.

The park witnessed the death of 56 rhinos this year alone. Of this, tigers killed 15 rhino calves while six fell prey to poachers’ bullets.

6-Jun-08 8:00 PM

‘Politics’ behind rhino poaching

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 01:00:00 GMT

GUWAHATI, June 6 – Hinting that there could be a ‘political conspiracy’ in the spurt in rhino poaching in the famed Kaziranga National Park, Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain today said that the CBI inquiry would throw light on different aspects of the rhino killings. The State Government is also contemplating amending relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act-1972 to give more teeth to the deterrent measures like making poaching punishable by 7 to 10 years.

Meanwhile, following Thursday’s killing of a rhino in Kaziranga, the State Government has constituted a committee with BS Bonal, CCF (Wildlife), which has been asked to submit a report immediately after an on-the-spot inquiry.

Addressing a press conference, Hussain said that the killing of rhinos invariably coincided with some instability in the political sphere “as when a particular party was defeated in panchayat polls or when a leader of that party joined the Congress.”

“However, since the matter has been handed over to the CBI, it would not be proper to dwelt more on this. We are confident that the CBI would unravel many hidden aspects of the recent rhino poaching,” he said.

Asserting that the Forest Department was initiating adequate measures to protect the rhino, the Minister said that the spurt in poaching made it imperative that the law was made more stringent for dealing with forest crimes, especially poaching.

“We want to have the Wildlife Protection Act-1972 amended for extending the term of a convicted poacher to 7 to 10 years instead of the present 3 years,” Hussain said, adding that such an amendment could be an effective deterrent.

This year poachers have killed seven rhinos of the Kaziranga National Park besides three in the Orang National Park.

6-Jun-08 8:00 PM

Rhino Poachers Strike in Kaziranga

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Guwahati, June 6 (IANS) Poachers in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park Friday slaughtered a one-horned rhino for its horn in the latest of incidents of rhino poaching in the north-eastern state. A park warden said they recovered the rhino carcass near the Agoratoli range of the 430 sq km park in eastern Assam. The poachers were able to take away the horn of the adult rhino, a park ranger said. The poachers used automatic weapons to gun down the rhino probably in the early hours of Friday. With this incident, the total number of rhinos killed so far this year by organized poacher gangs has gone up to 11. Friday’s poaching incident came shortly after Assam forests minister Rockybul Hussain announced that the state government proposed harsher laws envisaging punishment ranging from life imprisonment to a 10-year prison term to tackle the menace of rhino poaching. The government is contemplating an increase in the prison term for poachers from three to 10 years and doubling the quantum...

6-Jun-08 1:00 PM

Yet another rhino killed in Kaziranga

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Golaghat-Jorhat (PTI): One more rhino of the Kaziranga National Park in Assam fell to poachers' bullets when the body of a male rhino was recovered on Friday, taking the total number of the pachyderms killed in the forest since last year to 24.

Kaziranga Forest sources said the body of the one-horned rhino, slain about three days ago, was found on Friday in a water body at Singimari with its horn sawn off.

The animal bore bullet marks on both sides of its head and on the side of its right leg, they said.

In the same area a female rhino and its calf were killed by poachers about two months ago and the horn of it was taken away.

Rhino horns fetch hefty amounts of money in international market, particularly in the South-East Asian countries for their reported aphrodisiac qualities.

The Dulamari area of the Park, inhabited by rhinos, elephants and pelicans, is being encroached upon by people from neighbouring areas helping the poachers to carry out their illegal activity, the sources said.

6-Jun-08 1:00 PM

South Africa: Govt to Step Up Fight Against Rhino Horn Poaching

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:00:00 GMT

As trading in illegal rhino horns is on the increase in South Africa, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk believes government needs to stringently enforce legislation. Although we have had tremendous successes in protecting and expanding our conservation areas, over the past two years there has been a dramatic increase in the illegal trade of rhino horn and in the hunting of white rhino. Both Black and White rhino are listed as threatened or protected species and permits are required to perform a restricted activity, said the minister on Thursday, delivering his Budget Vote speech to the National Council of Provinces. He said there could be no question that without enforcement of compliance, environmental legislation was worth no more than the paper on which its written. It was highlighted that it was World Environment Day and that it was being celebrated under the slogan Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy. Mr van Schalkwyk said the...

6-Jun-08 1:00 PM

Australian Zoo Artificially Fertilises Rhino Egg

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:00:00 GMT

SYDNEY - An Australian zoo on Friday said it had artificially fertilised a rhinoceros egg in a breakthrough that could be used in the future to ensure the critically endangered animal's survival.

Biologists succeeded in fertilising the egg of a female black rhinoceros with sperm from a male after several failed attempts.

The procedure was carried out at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in the New South Wales town of Dubbo, about 300 kilometres (186 miles) west of Sydney, with the help of experts from Berlin's Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research.

Biologist Tamara Keeley said despite the team's success, the technology to implant the egg into a female to carry it for the 14-month gestation period did not yet exist.

Instead, any viable embryos created would be preserved in liquid nitrogen until the technology to carry out rhino in-vitro fertilisation catches up.

‘This embryo, we're hoping, will continue to develop and if it develops enough, we'll actually freeze it and keep it frozen until we've developed the technology that we need to transfer it back into a rhino and possibly produce a rhino calf,’ Keeley told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Scientists said the breakthrough could keep genetic diversity alive in the animals, of which only 3,725 survive in the wild, and help assisted reproduction in other rhino species.

‘Importantly this development will now enable us to save the genome of critically endangered animals, either zoo-based or in the wild,’ the Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research's Dr. Thomas Hildebrandt said in a statement.

‘We can then transport these genes anywhere and insert them back into the population at any time, with the suitable techniques, therefore giving us a real chance to try and reverse extinction rates for some of the most endangered animals on our planet.’

Taronga Western Plains Zoo is home to 11 black rhinoceros.

6-Jun-08 1:00 PM

Rare White Rhino Needs a Name

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:00:00 GMT

At two months old, this southern white rhinoceros has become a star at Taronga Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo but unfortunately her name is not in lights because she doesn't have one.

The task of finding a suitable name has been left to The Daily Telegraph readers, who have one last chance to enter the rhino-naming competition with a zoofari experience up for grabs.

Her keeper Pascale Benoit says the name needs to be something in keeping with her African heritage like her mother Umqali, (which means aggressor) and her father Umfana (little boy).

The winning entry will win a zoofari experience where two adults and two children will be able to get behind the scenes with the animals and even sleep the night in a luxury tent lodge.

To enter, write to Name a Rhino Competition, Level 3, 2 Holt St, Surry Hills, NSW, 2010 or email news@dailytelegraph.com.au.

6-Jun-08 12:00 PM

Zoo's New Baby Off to a Flier

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Cute baby animals are like buses -- you wait ages for one and then three arrive in a row.

Dublin Zoo yesterday unveiled a female white rhino that was born last week weighing in at 70kg and which follows the arrival of two baby elephants.

The Southern White rhino calf, which has not yet been named, is the first rhinoceros to have been born at the Phoenix Park zoo in 14 years. White rhinos are one of the world's endangered animals.

"We are absolutely delighted with our new arrival," zoo keeper Helen Clarke said yesterday as the new baby raced playfully around his enclosure with his mother Ashanti.

"One of our keepers, Ken Mackey, had been keeping a very close eye on Ashanti over the past month, particularly as we knew that she was due to give birth soon.

"Ashanti is an absolutely fantastic mother, she is doing it all perfectly. Even the delivery was textbook and the calf was up on her feet in 20 minutes."

There are six white rhinos at the zoo -- four females and two males -- and potential mates were picked and paired off together in an attempt to bring about a pregnancy.

Keepers discovered Ashanti was expecting late last year after employing a novel pregnancy test.

Hormone

By adding non-toxic coloured glitter, silver and blue, to the rhino feed, staff could identify Ashanti's dung and test it for increased hormone levels.

The Southern White was almost extinct 100 years ago but around 14,000 are now alive, in the wild, in captivity and in nature reserves in Africa. They can weigh up to 4,000kg.

Dublin Zoo has seen a number of births in recent times, with a bull elephant calf, Budi, born in February and a female elephant calf, Asha, born in May last year.

A competition to name the rhino is expected over the coming weeks.

6-Jun-08 12:00 PM

Rhino Numbers On The Rise

noemail@rhinos-irf.org — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Siliguri, June 5: Forest officials have announced that the current rhino population in Gorumara National Park is 31, an increase of four since the previous census two years ago.

“On the basis of the two-day census held on March 27-28 this year, we have ascertained that there are 31 rhinos in the park,” Tapas Das, the divisional forest officer (wildlife-2), said in Jalpaiguri today. “During the previous census in 2006, there were 27 rhinos in Gorumara.”

The population comprises 14 males, nine females and eight cubs. “The total area of the park is 85sqkm. That is enough for the existing population. Even if the numbers go up in future, there would not be any problem with space or fodder,” said Das.

The forest department has taken photographs of each rhino during the census. “We took the help of GPS and posted people at strategic points in all 32 blocks of the park as well as 19 fixed points during the census,” the divisional forest officer said.

The department is now putting together a dossier containing details of each rhino. “Each has been given names like Botolsingh, Borosinghwali, Kankata and Bankasingh for easy identification. The dossiers would be with the beat and range offices. If any rhino is injured or forced out of the habitat by infighting, the foresters can locate it, go through its past record and take appropriate measures,” Das said. [The Telegraph]

5-Jun-08 1:00 PM

Baby White Rhino Makes Public Debut

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:30:00 GMT

The newest addition to the Dublin Zoo, a baby white rhinoceros, made her public debut today.

Baby White Rhino at Dublin ZooThe 70kg baby rhino (left) is the first one born in Dublin in 14 years.

Her mother, Ashanti, is one of six white rhinos at the zoo.

Late last year, zookeepers took the unusual step of adding non-toxic glitter into Ashanti's food to determine if she was pregnant.

Both Ashanti and one of the other females, Zanta, had different coloured glitter added to their feed.

That allowed keepers to identify Ashanti's dung and test it for increased hormone levels.

4-Jun-08 3:30 PM

Meet My Young Charge

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:00:00 GMT

By Richard Morris

Sunday lunchtime saw the birth of the first rhino ever in Cumbria.

The event was captured on a web camera set up in mother Ntombi’s pen and beamed out across the world over the internet.

The arrival of the rare female baby white rhino has been hailed as one of the most important births in the history of the attraction by park director David Gill.

And more good news is on the cards with Tala, the park’s second female white rhino, also expected to give birth within days.

With a gestation period of 16 months, everyone has had a long wait holding their breath for Ntombi’s firstborn.

There was some concern mounting as she was very late, running about one month overdue.

A thrilled Mr Gill said: “This is the first opportunity that we have had for breeding and both our females were pregnant.

“We have had a webcam on them and so people all over the world could see the baby being born.

“The birth was perfect because she lay facing the camera.”

After months of waiting, all of a sudden Ntombi’s waters broke and minutes later the baby’s legs popped out.

The mother immediately bonded with her calf and began to lick it as the youngster spent the next hour trying to get to its feet.

Mr Gill said: “It was a fantastic day for us. It is the biggest birth we have had.

“The other female is due any day within the next month or so. It is absolutely amazing.

“To me personally it is equal to seeing my kids being born, because it is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long, long time.

“There are not many people who breed white rhinos. I think there were only two born in Europe last year.”

Ntombi and Tala came to the park in 2003. You can see footage of the birth by logging on to the park’s website at www.wildanimalpark.co.uk

Visitors will be able to see the baby on the zoo’s TV screen and hopefully, if all goes well, the pair will be on show within a few days. The new arrival will be named soon.

3-Jun-08 11:00 AM

Assam Wants Life Terms for Rhino Poachers

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:00:00 GMT

GUWAHATI: The Assam government has proposed tough anti-poaching laws ranging from heavy fines to life imprisonment to combat a rise in the slaughter of rhinos by organised crime syndicates. We are contemplating certain amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 for an increase in the prison term for poachers from three to 10 years and doubling the quantum of fine to Rs.50,000, Assam Forest and Wildlife Minister Rockybul Hussain said on Tuesday. If a poacher repeats the crime we want life imprisonment so as to deter people from carrying out rhino poaching, the minister said. The decision to introduce tough laws comes in the wake of a rise in rhino poaching at the famous Kaziranga National Park, besides other wildlife sanctuaries in the state. If the amendments come through, a poacher will be tried by a senior court, one with a sessions judge. Armed poacher gangs have slaughtered 10 rhinos so far this year in Kaziranga and Orang sanctuaries for their horn. We are committed...

3-Jun-08 11:00 AM

Poachers pillaging Nepal

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:00:00 GMT

Kathmandu - A third of the 30 endangered one-horned rhinos living in a sanctuary in western Nepal have died in less than a year, most of them slain by poachers, an official said.

“Ten rhinos died in the past 10 months, out of which seven were killed by poachers,” Phanindra Kharel, chief of Nepal’s Bardia National Park, told AFP by telephone.

“They are under real threat and we are very concerned."

Three other rhinos died of natural causes, the official added.

“If poaching is not stopped, all the rhinos might be gone in the next few years,” said Kharel from the park, 350 kilometres (215 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu.

Last month, park officials arrested a soldier and three former army troops for poaching two rhinos.

“We have stepped up security inside the park but we still don’t think these wild animals are safe because we have found the involvement of security guards in poaching,” he said.

Wildlife experts say many rhinos fell prey to poachers during the 10-year Maoist rebellion that ended in 2006, as guards had abandoned security posts to fight.

The animal’s horn is highly valued as an aphrodisiac in China, and is used to make dagger handles in Arab countries. A single horn can fetch as much as 14,000 dollars on the international black market.

Rhino poaching carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail in Nepal.

2-Jun-08 4:00 PM

Rhinos in Budapest Zoo

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 19:00:00 GMT

The world’s first rhino calf born through artificial insemination thrilled scores of children and journalists in her press debut at Budapest Zoo.

Layla, a two-and-a-half-month old Southern White Rhino who is Hungary’s answer to celebrity German polar bear cub Knut, at first appeared intimidated by the crowd at her naming ceremony, but later sniffed happily around her paddock.

The Southern White Rhino -- which is from Africa -- was one of the first kind of rhino to reach the brink of extinction in our lifetime, according to the International Rhino Foundation.

Born weighing 58 kg (127.9 lb) in January 2007, the zoo says Layla is in perfect health and has added 80 kg in just over two months, thanks to the care of zookeepers who adopted the calf after her mother, Lulu, rejected her at birth.

“Every new life is a miracle and we have had the fortune of being part of an even more special kind when this vigorous and playful calf came to light,” Budapest Zoo Director Ilma Bogsch told journalists.

2-Jun-08 2:00 PM

Rare Rhino Numbers in Nepal Fall Due to Poachers

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Poaching in the Himalayas is taking a heavy toll on the population of the endangered one-horned rhinoceros in Nepal, a wildlife official said on Sunday.

There were 31 rhinoceros in the jungles of Bardiya National Park located in Nepal's southwestern plains last year of which nine have gone missing, park official Phanindra Kharel said.

"This shows that the rhinoceros are under threat from poachers," he said. "This is very serious and if this continues we may not have any rhinoceros left soon."

Global conservation group WWF estimates there are less than 3,000 rhinoceros left in the world. They are found mostly in northeastern India and about 425 in neighboring Nepal.

Last month, authorities arrested a soldier and his three accomplices on charges of killing two rhinoceros in Nepal's Bardiya park.

The other area where the one-horned rhinoceros is found is the northeastern Indian state of Assam which has 1,855 beasts.

But poaching is also a big threat there and at least 10 animals have been killed in India's northeast since January this year by hunters, forcing authorities to tighten security.

Rhino horns are considered to have aphrodisiac qualities and fetch a high price in China and Southeast Asian countries, wildlife experts say.

Anyone found guilty of killing a rhino can be sentenced to up to 15 years in jail in Nepal. But experts say the implementation of the law is weak.

Officials in the Chitwan National Park in central Nepal, which has 408 rhinos, have also tightened security to save them from poachers.

1-Jun-08 11:00 PM

Poachers Kill 7 One-horned Rhinos in Nepal

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 16:45:00 GMT

KATHMANDU: Seven one-horned rhinos have been killed by poachers in the last 10 months at Nepal's Bardiya National Park (BNP) which has lost one third of its 30 endangered animals, officials said.

Three other rhinos had died due to natural causes, according to Fadindra Kharel, chief conservation officer of the BNP.

"The rhino census conducted last year had showed that there were 31 rhinos inside the park, but at present there are only 18 to 20 rhinos inside the park," he was quoted as saying by Kantipur online.

Rampant poaching of rhinos inside the park is said to be the main cause behind the number of the endangered species going down so drastically.

In a bid to save the one-horned rhinos from extinction and increase their number through reproduction, the government had shifted 83 rhinos from Chitwan National Park to BNP during the period between 1986 and 2002, the reports said.

"After the seurity posts inside the BNP were moved elsewhere during the state of emergency, all 83 rhinos at Babai valley and Karnali riverside were killed by poachers," Kharel told the daily.

Following the peace agreement, 14 security posts were installed inside BNP for the security of animals inside the park.

Four additional security posts are now in the offing, said Colonel Suraj Giri of the Nepal Army (NA) Batallion that is responsible for security arrangments inside the park.

However, a month ago the security personnel deployed to ensure the security of animals inside the park were found involved in poaching. Last month a serving Nepal Army (NA) soldier and three NA deserters were arrested in connection with the killing of a rhino inside the park.

1-Jun-08 11:45 AM