Once upon a time, in Africa's savannahs...there were over a million black and white rhinos. After the Europeans' arrival, the rhino numbers and distribution quickly declined. An escalation in poaching happened between the 1970s and the 1980s, as a result of a high demand for rhino horn, used in traditional Asian medicines and valued for dagger handles in the Middle East.
Today, thanks to conservation and anti-poaching efforts, some African rhino populations are stable or increasing, though poaching still occurs. Anyway, it is hard to find African rhinos outside of protected areas and sanctuaries.
WWF is at the forefront of conservation of African rhinos. In 1997 they adopted a strategic and proactive approach to rhino conservation: the African Rhino Programme (ARP). This programme works in cooperation with many partners (government bodies, other conservation groups and NGOs, the private sector and local communities).
Thank to WWF's anti-poaching projects rhinos are now recovering. When the ARP launched there were 8,466 white rhinos and 2,599 black rhinos in the wild: nowadays there are over 20,000 white rhinos and almost 5,000 black rhinos.
However, there's still more to do. Expanding existing protected areas and establishing new ones, improving security monitoring against poaching and improving local and international law in this field, promoting well managed wildlife-based tourism experiences to provide additional funding for conservation efforts.
To help WWF...
Don't buy rhino horn products, donate towards much-needed anti-poaching equipment and support for rangers across Africa and spread the word sharing this information with others!
For more information http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/rhinoceros/african_rhinos/
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