WAR ON MOTHER NATURE: Record Numbers Of Rhinos Poached In Africa In 2015 - Report!

A report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revealed that at least 1,338 rhinos (stock image) were murdered across Africa in the past year.

March 11, 2016 - AFRICA - The number of African rhinos killed by poachers in 2015 increased for the sixth year in a row.

A report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revealed that at least 1,338 rhinos were murdered across the continent in the past year.

This is the highest its been since 2008 when South Africa banned trade in rhino horns, leading conservation body IUCN said on Wednesday.

The slaughter has been driven by demand for their horn in countries such as China and Vietnam, where they are prized for their purported medicinal properties.

The horn is composed mainly of keratin, the same component as in human nails, but it is sold in powdered form as a supposed cure for cancer and other diseases.

Trade in rhino horns was banned in 1977 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).

The international treaty was set up in 1973 to protect wildlife against over-exploitation, and ensure that trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

However, the practice was only banned in 2008 in South Africa, which is said to be home to 20,000 rhinos or 80 per cent of the world's rhino population.

IUCN Director General Inger Andersen said despite stepped up surveillance by field rangers there had been 'alarming increases in poaching over the past year in other vitally important range states, such as Namibia and Zimbabwe' both of which adjoin South Africa.

Demand for rhino horn from South East Asia is being illegally supplied by sophisticated transnational organised crime networks, the IUCN said.

They are sold for about $60,000 a kilo on the black market, making it more expensive than cocaine.

'The extensive poaching for the illegal trade in horn continues to undermine the rhino conservation successes made in Africa over the last two decades,' said IUCN expert Mike Knight.

On the plus side, poaching in Kenya decreased over the past two years and went down for the first time in South Africa in 2015.

According to experts, there were between 19,000 and 21,000 white rhinos in Africa last year and between 5,000 and 5,500 black ones. - Daily Mail.

 

THE WAR ON MOTHER NATURE: Africa's Western Black Rhino Has Been Officially Declared Extinct - Africa's Northern White Rhino And Asia's Javan Rhino Are "Teetering On The Brink Of Extinction!

November 08, 2013 - AFRICA - Africa's western black rhino is now officially extinct according the latest review of animals and plants by the world's largest conservation network.

The subspecies of the black rhino -- which is classified as "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species -- was last seen in western Africa in 2006.

Poaching and lack of conservation have made a subspecies of Africa's black rhino (pictured) extinct.

The IUCN warns that other rhinos could follow saying Africa's northern white rhino is "teetering on the brink of extinction" while Asia's Javan rhino is "making its last stand" due to continued poaching and lack of conservation.

"In the case of the western black rhino and the northern white rhino the situation could have had very different results if the suggested conservation measures had been implemented," Simon Stuart, chair of the IUCN species survival commission said in a statement.

"These measures must be strengthened now, specifically managing habitats in order to improve performance, preventing other rhinos from fading into extinction," Stuart added.

The IUCN points to conservation efforts which have paid off for the southern white rhino subspecies which have seen populations rise from less than 100 at the end of the 19th century to an estimated wild population of 20,000 today.

Africa's northern white rhino is "teetering on the brink of extinction" according to the lastest IUCN Red List

Another success can be seen with the Przewalski's Horse which was listed as "extinct in the wild" in 1996 but now, thanks to a captive breeding program, has an estimated population of 300.

The latest update to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species reviews more than 60,000 species, concluding that 25% of mammals on the list are at risk of extinction.

Many plants are also under threat, say the IUCN.

Populations of Chinese fir, a conifer which was once widespread throughout China and Vietnam, is being threatened by the expansion of intensive agriculture according to the IUCN.

In 1996 the Przewalski's Horse was listed as "extinct in the wild." But thanks to a captive breeding
program its population has risen to around 300, say the IUCN.

The Coco de Mer has been "uplisted" from vulnerable to endangered due to increased fires
and illegal havesting f its kernels.

The summers' poison frog is a recently discovered amphibian which is classified as endangered.

The blessed poison frog is currently listed as vulnerable, say the IUCN.

A type of yew tree (taxus contorta) found in Asia which is used to produce Taxol (a chemotherapy drug) has been reclassified from "vulnerable" to "endangered" on the IUCN Red List, as has the Coco de Mer -- a palm tree found in the Seychelles islands -- which is at risk from fires and illegal harvesting of its kernels.

Recent studies of 79 tropical plants in the Indian Ocean archipelago revealed that more than three quarters of them were at risk of extinction.

In the oceans, the IUCN reports that five out of eight tuna species are now "threatened" or "near threatened," while 26 recently-discovered amphibians have been added to the Red List including the "blessed poison frog" (classified as vulnerable) while the "summers' poison frog" is endangered.

"This update offers both good and bad news on the status of many species around the world," Jane Smart, director of IUCN's global species program said in a statement.

"We have the knowledge that conservation works if executed in a timely manner, yet, without strong political will in combination with targeted efforts and resources, the wonders of nature and the services it provides can be lost forever." - CNN.