Rhinos are big. Seriously big. They are strong, dangerous, and unpredictable. They can grow up to 4 tonnes in weight, though usually breeding rhinos are about 2 tonnes.
Rhinos are probably related to the largest land mammal that ever lived, the Baluchitherium, (named because its fossil remains were found in Balukistan, sometimes known as Indricotherium). It was 18 feet tall and 36 feet long. Woolly Rhinos were found in the Bristol area in prehistoric days.
Poaching Rhinos for their horn has reduced the population from 70,000 30 years ago to fewer than 21,000 today.
The fundamental problem for the rhino is its horn, which is made of keratin, a substance found in human hair and nails. Rhino horn is used extensively in traditional medicine in Asia and to make ornamental dagger handles in the Yemen. The demand is so great that traders are prepared to pay poachers vast sums to kill rhinos for their horns.
The European Assocation of Zoos and Aquaria joined forces with UK charity Save the Rhino International to raise funds for over 20 rhino conservation projects in Africa and Asia. All the money raised will go to the selected projects, directly supporting the conservation and survival of rhinos in the wild.
For more information about the campaign, click here
For more information about grants made so far, click here (There are further links from this page to the descriptions of the beneficiary field projects.)
The campaign also aims to create awareness of the threats that rhinos face in the wild (such as poaching, see above).
If you would like to stop rhinos becoming extinct, then join the Save the Rhinos campaign!
Talk about it to your friends colleagues and family, or make a donation via this link and choose which field project you'd like to support.
|
