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   The rhinoceros could hardly be described as an attractive beast. Its massive build, short stout legs, rough hairless hide and two stout horns protruding from the front of the nose, give it a prehistoric look. For the record, the black rhino is no more black than the white rhino is white; both are dark gray, with the black rhino slightly darker.Tragically, the black and white rhinos are the only two left in Africa and both face extinction. In fact, the black rhino is disappearing faster than any other large animal on earth. Weighing more than a ton, the rhino can be unpredictably aggressive, and has been known to charge vehicles or campfires and toss people on its front horn. It has poor sight and relies on its acute senses of hearing and smell to locate an intruder. The black rhinoceros, with its three toes, belongs to the perissodactyla or "odd-toed" group of mammals, which take the main weight of the body axed on the central toe of each foot (like the horse). It stands more than one and a half metres high and three metres long, with a short hairy-tipped tail. Unlike the antlers of a deer, the horns of a rhino are not made of bone but of closely packed hair-line keratin fibres, similar to the substance of nails and hooves, growing from the skin. In the early twentieth century, it ranged as far north as the Sudan and as far west as Nigeria. However, over the last 30 years the population of black rhinos in Africa has dropped from more than 30,000 to only 2,550 at the latest count in 1994. The largest numbers are in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe. In the past, rhinos were threatened by excessive hunting. Now, poachers are an even bigger threat. They are killing the animal to meet the demand for rhinoceros horn for medicines in the Far East and for dagger handles in the Middle East. The establishment of sanctuaries, combined with intensive protection, appears to have stabilized the remaining populations, but the situation is still critical. Although, the black rhino is fully protected by national and international laws, illegal trade continues. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) developed a "wildlife interpol" for Africa, known as the Lusaka Agreement on Cooperative Enforcement Operations. Kenya, Lesotho, Tanzania, Uganda, Republic of Congo, Zambia, Ethiopia, Swaziland and South Africa have signed on to to reduce and ultimately eliminate illegal trade in wild fauna and flora. As part of the global effort to protect the planet's biodiversity, UNEP administers one of the world's largest conservation agreements - the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES. Adopted in 1973, it became international law two years later. More than 150 governments have ratified the treaty, which offers varying protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants, depending on their condition in the wild and the effect that international trade may have on them. CITES bans international commercial trade in species threatened with extinction, such as cheetahs, tigers, the great apes, many tortoises and birds of prey. It also protects other species, which are not threatened, but may be at serious risk unless international trade is strictly regulated.
LEARN MORE how the UN works with its partners around the world to save endangered species. Go to the links at the side of the page. Photo credit: UN |
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