What would first come to your head if you were asked, what is the cutest animal? I, as you know, I would probably say, tigers, of course. You might say puppies, or pandas, or, possibly a unicorn, if you count animals that probably don’t exist. One animal that will most likely not pop into your head is the rhino. I mean, they’re not fluffy, or small, and they don’t have big eyes. But, in a way, these big, clumsy creatures have a certain aura that makes them surprisingly cute; especially the babies. That’s right, today we’re taking about rhinos. Rhinos aren’t the first animal you think of when on the topic of endangered species either. I guess tigers and pandas get more attention because so many people love them. But rhinos are in trouble too.  

Rhinos are considered a critically endangered species, less than 30,000 alive in the wild today. That may seem like a large number, but considering that there are five different species of rhino, there aren’t a lot left of each species. There are two main reasons why they are endangered. 1) Poaching of the rhino, followed by illegal trafficking of its horn, and 2) loss of its habitat. Let’s talk a little about poaching, even though it’s a very depressing subject. 

Rhino horns:

Sadly, poaching is big business these days. There are even organized criminal gangs who are equipped and experienced with poaching rhinos. And in countries with financial instability, the amount of poaching is elevated. One rhino horn is worth 200,000 pounds, or $252,391.40 in U.S. dollars. When people get desperate for money, I can see why this prospect would be tempting… FOR SICKOS WITH NO CONSCIENCE! Sorry, I’m getting too emotional about this. Anyways, rhino horns are worth a lot of money, and are on high demand. They’re used in traditional Asian medicine (though there is no evidence that rhino horns actually help you medically) , and serve as mere status symbols. I can’t even put my disgust into words. Loss of habitat is also a problem. Rhinos need a large amount of land to roam and feed, but lots of land is being cleared for agricultural purposes. So, that’s kind of a problem.  

Let’s talk about the more positive side of the spectrum; what’s being done to help save rhinos. The Helping Rhinos organization worked with The Zululand Conservation Trust to create the Zululand Rhino Orphanage. This sanctuary was actually started because of a tragedy. Zululand’s previous rhino orphanage was brutally attacked by poachers in February 2017. Because of security reasons, they were forced to close. But there was still the need for a home for their two white rhinos, two black rhinos, and for some reason, a hippo. That’s how the Zululand Rhino Orphanage came to be. The proper facilities for housing these orphans were quickly constructed. And after the urgent need for a facility had passed, they developed the place to make it an even better home, already taking on two more rhinos.  

Two of the rhinos:

Of course, there are challenges. The care takers must be with the orphans 24-7, because in the wild, baby rhinos have their moms to get milk from whenever they want it. So, caring for these gentle giants is harder than it might seem. There is also the threat of another gang of poachers targeting the facility. Am I the only one who thinks that would be a scary place to live? But they are taking precautions to keep the animals safe, including not giving any information about its specific location on their website, and not opening it to the public. Hopefully more efforts to save rhinos like this one will be enforced. With poachers literally forming gangs to hunt them, they need all the help they can get.  

The orphans get top-quality care from their dedicated “moms”:

What’d you think of this weeks’ post? Be sure to give your feedback and opinions in the comments section. And check out their website https://www.helpingrhinos.org/ to learn about more of their efforts to save rhinos. They do so much besides the orphanage. Any fellow artists reading this? Here’s a link to their Arts and Crafts page, where you can meet artists who do art to raise money for rhinos. They have such talent! (BTW, do NOT look up pictures of rhinos without horns, you’ll cry yourself to sleep. You have been warned.) Goodbye for now! 

An sample of the cool wildlife art: