Posted on 05/01/2013 5:46:16 AM PDT by kimtom
The 15 threatened animals were shot dead for their horns last month in the Mozambican part of Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which also covers South Africa and Zimbabwe.
They were thought to be the last of an estimated 300 that roamed through the special conservation area when it was established as "the world's greatest animal kingdom" in a treaty signed by the three countries' then presidents in 2002.
The latest deaths, and Mozambique's failure to tackle poaching, has prompted threats by South Africa to re-erect fences between their reserves.
Wildlife authorities believe the poachers were able to track the rhinoceroses with the help of game rangers working in the Limpopo National Park, as the Mozambican side of the reserve is known.
A total of 30 rangers are due in court in the coming weeks, charged with collusion in the creatures' deaths, according to the park's administrators.
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Conservationists say the poorly-paid rangers were vulnerable to corruption by organised poaching gangs, who target rhinoceroses for their horns which are prized in Asia for their reputed aphrodisiac and cancer-curing properties.
The trade in rhino horn has seen the numbers of rhino killed spiral in recent years. Over the border in Kruger, the South African part of the transfrontier park, 180 have been killed so far this year, out of a national total of 249. Last year, 668 rhino were poached in South Africa, a 50 per cent increase over the previous year.
Kelvin Alie, from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said the fact that the rangers may have been turned while working on such an important ....
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
So, the problem is that African governments are insufficiently totalitarian?
Probably the rich Chinese will just buy them all
Poachers killed all the dinosaurs..must have...for their teeth I bet...
Not quite. Socialist Tanzania did a pretty good job for a long time preserving its big game animals.
How? By allowing legal hunting - which I believe it still does. Kenya, which outlawed hunting in 1976, saw its herds devastated by poaching.
"In 1895, there were only 20 to 50 animals alive in the wild.
Today, the population of white rhinos in southern Africa has grown to 17,500, with 750 more in captive breeding programs around the world, according to ARKive. I don't know how they got from 50 to 17,500, but it's a nice success story."
http://veggierevolution.blogspot.com/2009/08/with-chain-saw-he-cut-off-rhinos.html
I think it was either for their nads
Will poachers in the US really go into zoos to slaughter rino’s? I can’t see that happening.
In some African countries poachers are killed on sight per govt orders. They won’t be afraid to try to get into zoos.
maybe not US,, how good is security anyway.
Park Rangers were bought off.
Good post.
With help, animals can recover quickly.(relative terms)
“..Poachers killed all the dinosaurs..must have...for their teeth I bet......”
Why Not??? for same reasons. (maybe not “all”)
>The solution is to farm them, and let free enterprise solve it.<
Given the ferocity of a Rhino, and its long gestation cycle, that might be a tad harder than salmon farming.
Not to say it wasn’t a good idea.
Don’t anyone mention that the rhinos are slaughtered so filthy old Chinese men can grind up their horns for aphrodesiacs.
so your thinking it will hasten their reproduction is silly. Your remark is somewhat silly.
************ even elephants will multiply fast if given enough food supply, range and left alone...
So American zoos will have a lock on rhinos. YEA!
huh?
I know tigers aren't in any danger. The number of tiger *pets* in East Texas alone exceeds India's wild tiger population.
East Texans have a fixation with exotic cats of all sorts. They start out as pets and end up in a refuge when they outgrow their owners.
Its not that I don’t care but here in the real world we have serious issues to deal with and this is a primarily Africa/Asia issue.
Africa’s main fame and pride comes from it’s wildlife. You would think the govts would go to extreme and brutal lengths to maintain and protect it. The park rangers who helped these poachers were poorly paid. They need to pay them enough so they are living high on the hog,,,and they need many more of them. There are too few rangers and too many poachers. Not only that, but they should be paid a big bonus for every poacher they find and gun down.
It’s a world issue.
Don’t anyone mention that the rhinos are slaughtered so filthy old Chinese men can grind up their horns for aphrodesiacs.
Apparently the Chinese have never heard of viagra.
So what is your solution? My money, American blood?
It sure as hell ain’t gonna be your bravery stopping it.
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