Posted by Peter in Africa,Endangered Species,Featured
The Rhino is truly a species on the edge. Zoos, conservation organizations, and field researchers have worked together for many years to help fight for their survival. It is difficult to protect a species whose numbers have plummeted so quickly but when you consider the 25,000 rhinos worldwide are spilt between 5 species, it makes the challenge of recovery all that more daunting.
Two of the world’s five rhinoceros species are found in Africa, the white rhino and the black rhino. Both are victims of illegal hunting, which is done for the sole purpose of obtaining their horns. Rhino horn is used to concoct traditional medicines in Asia and to produce ceremonial dagger handles in certain Middle Eastern countries. At the beginning of the 20th Century, the white rhino was perhaps the most endangered of the five rhino species, having been reduced to only a handful of animals, but its numbers have rebounded incredibly to a population of nearly 17,000, thanks to successful conservation efforts both in captivity and in the wild, and the species is no longer considered endangered. The black rhino, by comparison, has been seriously reduced in numbers to only a few thousand individuals in Africa’s.
In response to the critical situation facing Africa’s black rhino, the Houston Zoo has joined with the International Rhino Foundation to support the return of this species to Botswana, a country in which it used to occur, but from which it has been extirpated. The long-term goal is to eventually translocate animals to protected areas in the Okavango Delta and the Mashatu Game Reserve, as well as support Rhino Protection Units in Zimbabwe to assist this species.
The Houston Zoo has pledged $100,000 to help launch this ambitious project. The funds will be used to repair fences that protect remaining black rhino populations in Zimbabwe and to better equip anti-poaching units in that country.
Posted by Peter in Africa,Endangered Species,Featured,Rhino
Tickets are going fast…
The Houston Zoo’s 2010 Call of the Wild Speaker Series resumes January 28, 2010 with a very special guest – Dr. Susie Ellis, Executive Director of the International Rhino Foundation, the leading non-governmental organization for rhino conservation in the world.
Rhinos have existed on earth for more than 50 million years. Today, from Africa to Indonesia, all but one of the world’s 5 surviving species of rhinos is on the verge of extinction. Join us on January 28 in the Houston Zoo’s Brown Education Center auditorium as Dr. Ellis weaves a fascinating story about a species on the brink with first hand accounts from the field of efforts to save these amazing creatures.
Dr. Susie Ellis takes a hands on approach to rhino conservation. In fact, on January 22, just six days before her Call of the Wild Speaker Series presentation, Dr. Ellis will be returning from near two weeks of field work in Indonesia to protect the few remaining Sumatran and Javan rhinos left on earth.
Dr. Ellis’ dedication to the mission of the International Rhino Foundation has moved people of all ages to take action for rhino conservation. Two dedicated young conservationists will be introduced and honored during Dr. Ellis’ presentation. Eight year old Jax Bittner of Buda, Texas created his own rhino conservation Web site (www.rhino-jax.com) and has raised more than $600 for rhino conservation. Another Texan inspired by IRF’s work, 9 year old Eva Malone has raised $400 for rhino conservation.
Don’t miss a minute of the Call of the Wild Speaker Series with Dr. Susie Ellis and her special guests. Ticket prices are $10 for members, $15 for non-members, and $5 for children, students and Houston Zoo volunteers. Buy tickets on-line when you visit http://www.houstonzoo.org/lectureseries/.