Single Rhino Tasked With Saving Entire Subspecies From Extinction
NewsweekAPR 2022
Poaching is a savage and brutal practice. Some believe that shooting poachers on sight will reduce the problem, but that approach fails to address the root of the issue — namely, that countries demanding rhino horns enable its purchase by driving up demand for the product. The horns sell for $60K per kilogram on the black market, which is more than gold or cocaine. If we want to save the rhinos, we need to come up with a new plan because this one isn't working.
Botswana reported a dramatic drop in rhinoceros poaching in 2022 after taking further steps to protect its shrinking rhino population. After losing 126 animals between 2018 and 2021, only six rhinos were killed in Botswana in 2022. This is due to a robust national anti-poaching structure that deploys the army to poach hotspots, dehorning the rhinos, and moving the animals away from vulnerable areas. However, another reason could be that the poaching syndicates literally have cleaned it out and taken their business to neighboring countries.