Posted Monday morning, May 14, 2018.
A critically endangered black rhinoceros was released upon arriving at Zakouma National Park in Chad. Photo by Kyle De Nobrega/African Parks, via Associated Press via the New York Times.
What’s the difference between black rhinos and white rhinos?
Nope. Both are gray.
One difference is the shape of their lips. Black rhinos have pointed lips. White rhinos have square lips. Their pointed lips help black rhinos pick fruit and leaves from trees. White rhinos’ square lips help them graze.
Another difference is mathematical. The difference between 5,500 and 2. The northern white rhino is much closer to extinction than the black rhino. There are only two white rhinos left. Both are female.
The black rhino population isn’t exactly robust. Fifty-five hundred, give or take. Ninety-eight percent of them live in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Namibia. Forty percent in South Africa. Six---six in all, not six percent. One, two, three, four, five, six---live in Chad. There used to be a lot more, as Sandra E. Garcia writes in the New York Times:
Up until the mid-20th century, black rhinos dominated the landscape of Chad, grazing and attracting tourists. But they also attracted poachers, who hunted them for their horns, which are coveted for traditional Chinese medicinal practices and are displayed as status symbols.
The six in Chad just got there. They were airlifted in from South Africa a couple weeks ago and given a new home in Zakouma National Park.
Chad is one of several African countries that have recently sought to start their own small black rhino populations in an attempt to protect the species from extinction. It is a participant in the African Rhino Conservation Plan, which hopes to significantly grow the number of rhinos in Africa over the next five years.
Flying rhinos isn’t an easy task. Introducing them into a land that none of their kind have roamed for fifty years isn’t a matter of opening a cage door and letting them loose with the admonition to be fruitful and multiply.
Veterinarians in South Africa began training the six rhinos three months ago to prepare them for the trip, said Janine Raftopoulos, head of corporate communications for South African National Parks. The handlers kept the rhinos in bomas, or small enclosures, so they would be accustomed to spending time in confined spaces.
The rhinos were sedated for the flight and accompanied by support staff and veterinarians. They were closely monitored throughout the trip to Chad.
...[And] moving the rhinos to a place where they once were and no longer are isn’t enough. The population must be managed and protected, and law enforcement must play a role, Ms. Dean said. There should also be biological management, guided by effective monitoring.
You should read Garcia’s whole story, Black Rhinos Roam Chad for the First Time in 46 Years, at the New York Times.
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