Photo credit Maggie Esson
MARCH 2012
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Endangered Wildlife Trust and Karen Trendler are to run a series of 2-day courses on rearing orphaned rhino calves
The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) in partnership with rhino rehabilitation specialist, Karen Trendler, will be offering a series of nationwide, training workshops for conservation and wild animal care staff, wildlife rehabilitators, rhino owners and other relevant parties at the forefront of rhino poaching and the conservation of this flagship species. Read more on Facebook here
Captive Sumatran rhino Ratu is pregnant
Ratu, a female Sumatra rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), is in the eleventh month of her third pregnancy raising hopes for a successful birth of one of the world’s most imperiled big mammals. Ratu suffered two prior miscarriages, but researchers believe the current pregnancy—which still has four to five months to go (for a total term of around 15-16 months)—could produce what Indonesian officials have long hoped for: a bundle of joy at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Sumatra. Read more here
PROGRAMME NEWS
Congratulations to Dr Martin Brooks and Dr Richard Emslie
Save the Rhino would like to offer heartfelt congratulations to two leaders of rhino conservation who have recently won awards. Martin Brooks received the Sir Peter Scott Award for Conservation Merit and Richard Emslie received the Harry Messel Award for Conservation Leadership, at the recent IUCN SSG meeting in Abu Dhabi
AFRICA NEWS STORIES
Cameroon: Online sale of “rhino horn” by vendor in Cameroon being investigated by TRAFFIC
Click here to read the full story
Rhino horns (possibly fake) are being advertised illegally online, amid unprecedented poaching levels and soaring black market prices paid for them by international criminal syndicates
Kenya: Chester Zoo grant via SRI pays for camera traps for the Chyulu Hills Game scout and rhino programme
Click here to read the full story
The camera traps will assist us to identify and monitor the rhinos in the Chyulus, and hopefully capture some images of the new born baby that was reported last year
Kenya: Mugie Rhino Sanctuary’s rhinos moved to Ol Jogi Conservancy, where it is hoped they will be better protected against poachers
Click here to read the full story
Mugie had become synonymous with the conservation of the critically endangered black rhino and the continual daily battle to fight to save them. They had a huge dedicated security team that worked tirelessly over the years, but having already lost three rhinos in 2011 to poachers, saving these animals was more important than the revenues from tourism
Kenya: Ol Pejeta Conservancy to begin housing development, to generate income alongside its cattle ranch to support wildlife conservation efforts
Click here to read the full story
Ol Pejeta is set to create a 1,000 acre Mount Kenya Wildlife Estate along the Eastern boundary of the conservancy, on which in a secure gated community will be created
Tanzania: Dr Markus Borner of FZS nominated for the Indianapolis Prize 2012 for his work in the Serengeti
Click here to read the full story
Dr Borner has been on the frontline of conserving the Serengeti ecosystem and its endangered black rhinos through biodiversity conservation and ecologically sustainable development
Mozambique: Mozambique considers tougher sentences for wildlife crime; at present regarded as “damage to property”
Click here to read the full story
Mozambique was “pondering” legislative changes that would elevate the crime of wildlife poaching to a category of offence that carried heavier sentencing than the current offence of “damage to property”, the Mozambican Transfrontier Conservation Area and the South African National Parks (SANParks) said
Zimbabwe: Footage of tracking a black rhino on foot, and then being charged
Click here to read the full story
Boyd Matson is charged by a black rhino at the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve, Zimbabwe, filming for the National Geographic
Zimbabwe: Is Zimbabwe’s deal to acquire Chinese weapons linked with the loss of a quarter of its rhinos?
Click here to read the full story
Now that Zimbabwe security forces stand accused by CITES of involvement in the country’s wildlife poaching crisis, there is speculation that this corruption extends to a “rhino horn for weapons” deal with China
Zimbabwe: Rhino poacher (probably Zambian) killed by rangers in Hwange NP, when he resisted arrest and fired at them – not clear what happened to the other 2 poachers
Click here to read the full story
One of three armed poachers was shot dead at close range by Parks rangers on an anti-poaching patrol when he reportedly returned fire while resisting arrest
Zimbabwe: The problems caused by land invasions (illegal settlement) and incompatible land use in Zimbabwe’s wildlife conservancies
Click here to read the full story
All wildlife conservancy land in Zimbabwe should be used for wildlife farming instead of crop production, while farmers settled under the land reform programme should take up the land use options available in those areas, a government official has said
Botswana: Stanbic Bank donates 100,000 pula (US$14,000) to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary
Stanbic Bank has donated P100 000 to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust to help in their conservation mission. Handing the cheque to the community and Trust leadership at the Serowe kgotla last week, the Bank’s Managing Director, Leina Gabaraane, said funds were for the fencing of additional land towards rhino conservation and environmental education
Namibia: Fears that rhino poaching will come soon, as Vietnamese “hunter” granted trophy permit and Chinese “footprint” increases
In November 2011, a Vietnamese national was granted a permit to kill a rhino at Otjiwa Safari Lodge in Namibia. This is disconcerting because several Vietnamese nationals have already been implicated in schemes which use South Africa’s “hunting safaris” as a front to run rhino horn to Vietnam.
South Africa: 3 Mozambican poachers convicted of rhino poaching in Kruger NP in July 2010 & sentenced to 25 years each in jail
Click here to read the full story
Three rhino poachers were sentenced to 25 years each by the Phalaborwa Regional Court, according to an SA National Parks (SANParks) spokesperson
South Africa: 54 rhinos killed in 44 days in South Africa; total of 950 since Jan 2009. Some good news: poaching syndicate arrested
Click here to read the full story
If the killing continues at this rate, it is expected that by the end of the year at least 450 rhinos will have been killed by criminal syndicates
South Africa: Activists demand that the country destroys its rhino horn stockpiles within 60 days & urges global boycott of SA products if the government does not stop rhino poaching
Click here to read the full story
Conservation activists have threatened to push for a global boycott on South African products if the government does not immediately stop all trade in rhino horn
South Africa: Another article puts the number of rhinos killed in SA so far this year (end Feb) at 80 and gives breakdown
SanParks is calling for society to help in the fight against rhino poaching by being more vigilant and reporting any suspicious behaviour
South Africa: Are the right people being sent to jail for rhino-related crimes?
Alarming trends suggest that continued leniency towards unscrupulous ‘game-industry white guys’ is contributing to South Africa’s rhino crisis
South Africa: Belgian Malinois trained specifically in rhino horn and ammunition detection
Click here to read the full story
It’s no longer “Jock of the Bushveld” – but “Jack of the Bushveld”. That’s Jack the anti-poaching rhino dog who is being trained to go into the bush to sniff out and seize poachers who are tracking down and killing or maiming rhinos
South Africa: Bull rhino dies under anaesthetic while having horn injected with poison. Heart failure, post mortem to find out cause
Click here to read the full story
For 45 minutes it went well – “swimmingly well”, in fact. In those 45 minutes on Thursday, journalists, both local and international, watched as wildlife vets worked on the horn of a sedated rhino
South Africa: Car crash reveals a fake rhino horn
Click here to read the full story
What appeared to be rhino horn found by police officers in Bedfordview turned out to be fake
South Africa: Clerk appears in court over disappearance of rhino horns from police forensics lab in Pretoria
Click here to read the full story
A clerk from the police’s forensic laboratory has appeared in the Pretoria District Court in connection with the theft of several rhino horns from a laboratory safe, according to a report
South Africa: CNN news report on high-tech options for combating the rhino poaching crisis, including drones, radar
Click here to watch the video
South Africa: Discussion on the pros and cons of dehorning & on the need to strengthen security & rhino monitoring, rather than focusing on legalising trade which could take years to come into practice
Click here to read the full story
Every morning when she switches on her computer, Karen Trendler gets a wake-up call. The heart-rending image on her screensaver shows a wounded rhino calf that was shot as fled its mother’s killers
South Africa: Dr Ian Player warns that South Africa’s rhino populations are at the tipping point
Click here to read the full story
South Africa’s rhinos have already reached a crucial tipping point, due to the surge in poaching since 2008, conservationist Dr Ian Player
South Africa: Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife chief talks about the problem of khaki-collar crime: poaching aided or done by insiders
Click here to read the full story
The manner in which rhino poachers operate within South African parks can best be described as ruthlessly efficient
South Africa: Four SANParks staff arrested re. suspected involvement in rhino poaching in Kruger National Park
Click here to read the full story
The four officials were arrested after two rhino were found killed in the Kruger National Park (KNP) earlier that morning, SANParks spokeswoman Wanda Mkutshulwa said in a statement
South Africa: Half a million rand reward offered for info leading to arrest of rhino poachers who killed 2 rhinos in Limpopo
Click here to read the full story
Police in a South African province announced a reward of 500,000 rand ($65,000) for information leading to the arrest of suspects involved in the killing two rhinoceroses
South Africa: History of the beautiful golden rhino found in the hills at Mapungubwe & debate over its future
Click here to read the full story
When the astonishing Golden Rhinoceros was discovered on this arid hilltop in 1933, many whites in South Africa refused to believe that something so exquisite could have been crafted by a black African civilization. It must have been imported from Egypt, or somewhere else, they said
South Africa: Horrific account of a rhino poaching incident in Borakalalo, NW Province, South Africa
Click here to read the full story
For those of you that haven’t been there, I don’t think I can adequately describe what a rhino crime scene feels or smells like. Nor do I have words for the thousands of bloated flies that hold vigil in the trees all round you, lazy, almost tame, waiting for their gap to feed on yet another victim of man’s greed
South Africa: Karen Trendler hosts a workshop on rearing orphaned rhinos & rewilding them
Click here to read the full story
Wildlife specialist Karen Trendler hosted a workshop at the weekend at which a group of rangers, veterinary workers and members of anti-poaching units were taught how to deal with orphaned rhino
South Africa: Londolozi Game Reserve uses rhino dung to grow tasty vegetables for guests at its safari camp
Click here to read the full story
Meet Kenneth Jazi, the head gardener at Londolozi Game Reserve, a private game reserve committed to conservation, rehabilitation of wildlife and sustainability in South Africa. Over a year ago, Kenneth had the idea to start the camp’s very first local garden to supply fresh vegetables to the camp kitchens. But, he didn’t want to go outside for fertilizer. He was committed to finding something more local, something more natural to grow his vegetables with – little did he know that rhino dung would be his answer
South Africa: Military radar system that could be used to detect rhino (and other wildlife) poachers
Click here to watch the video
South Africa: More army units to be deployed along international borders in effort to combat rhino poaching
South Africa will deploy hundreds more soldiers to its borders to crack down on international syndicates blamed for a surge in rhino poaching
South Africa: More on the arrests of a poaching gang on the night of Tuesday 14 Feb
Click here to read the full story
A midnight joint police and animal protection group operation has resulted in a shootout and the arrest of five suspected poachers, including the alleged syndicate head in North West
South Africa: More on the very positive impact of the helicopter on anti-poaching efforts on Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park
Click here to read the full story
South Africa’s war against rhino poaching will be won from the air says Ian Player
South Africa: Mother and calf shot & killed in Tiergarten Wildlife Reserve in Limpopo Province; horns removed
Click here to read the full story
Two rhinos, a mother and a calf, have been killed by poachers in a Limpopo reserve, police said
South Africa: NBC interviews with Tom Milliken of TRAFFIC and Rusty Hustler from NW Province, on rhino poaching & illegal trade
Click here to read the full story and watch the video
In South Africa, home to three quarters of the last remaining rhinos on the planet, conservationists, private game reserve owners and security forces are waging a desperate battle against poachers intent on killing the country’s rhinos for their lucrative horns
South Africa: Orphan rhino calf has sight restored after operation to remove cataracts
Click here to read the full story
The calf was blinded when it was hit on the head by poachers. Yvonne Gioa, owner of the Elandela private game reserve outside Hoedspruit in Mpumalanga, told the Beeld the operation was a miracle
South Africa: Outrage over light treatment of vet who gave M99, a restricted drug, to a lay person
Click here to read the full story
It was enough tranquilliser to knock out about 390 rhinos – and it is often the drug of choice of poachers
South Africa: Post mortem on Spencer the rhino, which died under anaesthetic, proves no link to the poison injected in his horn
Click here to read the full story
Spencer the rhino, who died during a media demonstration of an anti-poaching treatment earlier in February, had abnormal heart, liver and kidney conditions, the Rhino Rescue Project
Watch video footage here
South Africa: Rhino poaching crisis means that many private reserve owners are worried about how to pay for the security needed
Click here to read the full story
In one of the most beautiful, tranquil parts of KwaZulu-Natal, an area locals have long called “heaven”, game reserve owner Don Airton is preparing for a war. The war has reached his neighbours and it’s only a matter of time before it reaches him. Airton is one of the many private reserve owners in SA spending millions a year on security as poachers turn their attention to rhinos in private hands.
South Africa: Airports Company South Africa has joined forces with the Endangered Wildlife Trust to clamp down on smuggling of wildlife products
Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) and its stakeholders have partnered with the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) in the fight against wildlife poaching and the trafficking of animal products in and out of South Africa’s main ports of entry and exit
South Africa: The proposed resurrection of the Kruger NP fence threatens the whole transfrontier park concept
Click here to read the full story
Talk of restoring the high-security fence that separated Kruger National Park from Mozambique during the Border War years has cast a deep shadow across one of the most exhilarating visions for southern Africa
South Africa: SANParks agrees not to rebuild the Kruger NP fence, but to incorporate Mozambican private reserves into the Park
Click here to read the full story
Mozambique and South Africa have agreed not to erect an electrified fence on the eastern side of the Kruger National Park and instead incorporate Mozambican private game reserves into the park
South Africa: Summary of submissions to meeting about the rhino poaching crisis
Solutions to stop rhino poaching in South Africa put forward at the public hearing in Parliament in Cape Town on Thursday 26 January 2012
South Africa: Suspected rhino poaching kingpin, former policeman “Big Joe” Nyalunga, arrested; horns, weapons and cash recovered
Click here to read the full story
The man alleged to be one of the most wanted masterminds in the rhino poaching underworld was arrested in Hazyview, Mpumalanga
South Africa: Talks over strike by rangers in Kruger National Park in deadlock & threatens to spill over to other Parks
Click here to read the full story
Last year, more than 448 rhinos were killed by poachers in South Africa. Around 240 of those were in Kruger National Park, South Africa’s largest wildlife reserve. On Monday, staff at the Park, including wildlife rangers, began a first full week of strikes in protest over their pay. With so many rangers off duty, there is concern that Kruger’s dwindling rhino population is now more vulnerable to poachers than ever
South Africa: Wildlife vets appear in court over wrongful possession & distribution of tranquilisers often used in rhino poaching
Click here to read the full story
Three veterinarians and five other men appeared in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court in connection with the wrongful possession and distribution of scheduled veterinary drugs commonly used in rhino poaching
South Africa: Cash payments tempt the rural poor to become poachers, even though they risk death / long sentences if caught
Cash payments far more than an annual income of between R10,000 and R13,000 are a “massive inducement” for poverty-ridden rural people to become active players in the ever-growing illegal industry that is rhino poaching
ASIA NEWS STORIES
Nepal: 4 people, including 3 policeman, with a rhino horn weighting 410 grammes, arrested
Click here to read the full story
Police arrested four people, including three police personnel stationed at the Metropolitan Police Range
Nepal: Kathmandu police arrest four suspected wildlife poachers & confiscate a rhino horn & a motorbike
Click here to read the full story
A team from Metropolitan Police Range, Maharajgunj, nabbed four suspected traders on wildlife parts along with a rhino horn from Bouddha of the Capital on Saturday afternoon
India: 4 rhinos (3 female, 1 male) translocated from Kaziranga NP to Manas National Park as part of Indian Rhino Vision 2020
Click here to read the full story
Forest officials along with NGO workers during the tranquilizing and translocation of 4 one horned Indian Rhinos from Kaziranga National Park to Manas National Park in Assam
India: At least 10 rhinos to be translocated from Kaziranga to Manas National Park in Assam, starting 19 February
Click here to read the full story
The director of Kaziranga, Surajeet Dutta, said this would be the first time that rhinos would be shifted from Kaziranga. “There are plans to shift at least 10 rhinos from Kaziranga to Manas but it would depend on how many rhinos we manage to capture. It’s a Herculean task to translocate rhinos,” he said
India: Poachers have started to target rhinos that have strayed out of Kaziranga National Park in Assam
Click here to read the full story
Poachers who had mostly confined their activities to Kaziranga National Park and a few other parks and sanctuaries in the state are now trying to widen their base in Upper Assam, targeting stray rhinos from Kaziranga
India: Pressure mounts on Environment Ministry & Assam government for failing to enforce mining & quarrying ban in no-development zone around Kaziranga National Park
Click here to read the full story
The Union environment ministry and the Assam government have been restrained by the National Green Tribunal from granting fresh approval to any industrial or stone crushing units in the vicinity of the famed Kaziranga National Park or renewing the existing ones
India: Rhino census to be carried out in March in Kaziranga & Orang NPs and Pobitora WS in Assam
Click here to read the full story
A census of Assam’s world famous one-horned rhinos will be undertaken from March 15, a forest department official said Tuesday. The 2009 census had put the number at almost 2,200
India: Rhino horn & other wildlife products from Assam & the North Eastern states are being smuggled through Nagaland via Myanmar to China
Click here to read the full story
As dusk falls on a lonely police station in the eastern tip of India, a young policeman nervously keeps an eye on the Arakan hills above him, dotted with poppy fields. Just 22 bumpy miles from the capital of India’s restive Manipur state, he and his colleagues are outnumbered by gunmen from a faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, one of half a dozen insurgent groups operating near India’s border with Myanmar
India: US Charge d’Affaires Peter Burleigh praises wildlife conservation efforts in Kaziranga National Park, Assam
Click here to read the full story
Peter Burleigh has praised the wild life conservation efforts in Kaziranga national park which had helped to bring the prized one-horned rhino back from the brink of extinction
India: The success of using Belgian Malinois dogs to track poachers in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Kaziranga National Park
Click here to read the full story
In January, the forest guards of Kaziranga started having better luck in their attempts to capture poachers since Jorba, a breed of sheep dog, joined the team
Malaysia: Agreement signed to create a wildlife corridor between Tabin and Kulamba Wildlife Reserves in Sabah
Click here to read the full story
A move is under way to connect the country’s largest wildlife forest reserve, Tabin, with adjacent fragmented forests through wildlife corridors in Sabah’s east coast Lahad Datu
Malaysia: Captive breeding options for Tam and Pantung, the two Sumatran rhinos being held in a facility in Sabah
Click here to read the full story
Sumatran rhino numbers have plunged so low that if captive breeding is not done now, the species might well tip over the brink
Indonesia: Camera trap photos reveal that 2 Javan rhinos were born in Ujung Kulon National Park in 2011; total population estimate 35
Click here to read the full story
Two Javanese rhinoceroses were born last year at Ujung Kulon National Park (TNUK), Pandeglang District, Banten Province. “The rhino population has grown, because in 2010 three rhinos were born,” said Hendra Purnama, an evaluation and data officer at TNUK
Indonesia: Pregnancy at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary offers a rare hope for the survival of the species
A Sumatran rhino which is 10-months pregnant is receiving special medical care after suffering two miscarriages
Indonesia: The IRF’s Bill Konstant on Sumatran rhinos, threats to their survival & conservation efforts
Click here to watch the video
WORLD NEWS STORIES
Misc: Christian environmental leaders warn that Christians need to care more for God’s creations
Click here to read the full story
With news of the desperate war against the extinction of rhinos at the hands of poachers in South Africa, a number of Christian environmental leaders have come out to suggest that Christians need to care more about God’s creations.
China: Chinese company’s plans to harvest rhino horn from “zoo” animals
Click here to read the full story
Can rhino horn be harvested like sheep’s wool? Critics say the plan is cruel, yet cunning: South African rhinos flown to China, penned up at a breeding farm owned by a Chinese medicine company, and their horns harvested regularly with a purpose-built tool
Hong Kong: CITES awards certificate of commendation to Hong Kong’s Customs & Excise Dept for horn & ivory seizures last November
Click here to read the full story
The Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) have been commended by an international authority for their exemplary efforts to detect a smuggling case of rhino horns and ivory products last November
Vietnam: Report on attitudes to the use of rhino horn and beliefs in its “medicinal” properties
Click here to read the part 1 of the story
Click here to read part 2
“Phung owned a video production company and was talking about a movie-industry Tet party he’d attended. It suddenly occurred to me to ask him about a story I was working on. Had he tried rhino horn because I’d heard its use was spreading among Vietnam’s elite?”
Vietnam: Skeleton reconstructed from Vietnam’s last Javan rhino, killed in 2010, for educational display
Click here to read the full story
Officials at Cat Tien National Park in Dong Nai Province, and scientists at the Tay Nguyen Institute of Biology, successfully reconstructed the skeleton of a one-horned Javan rhino, according to Tran Van Thanh, the park Director
Misc: CITES Secretariat calls for info / updates on implementation of rhino resolutions to curb illegal trade etc
Click here to read the full story
PDF of report from CITES
UK: Colchester Zoo steps up security, after Met Police Wildlife Crime Unit issues a warning to all rhino-holding zoos
Click here to read the full story
Click here to read the full story (another one!)
Colchester Zoo has spent thousands of pounds on security to protect the horns of its rhinos from poachers. A big-money alarm system has been installed to deter poachers who might be planning to sneak in at night and saw off the animals’ horns.
Misc: Discussion of the medicinal value, or otherwise, of rhino horn in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Click here to read the full story
Ignorance can be lethal. Especially if you happen to be a rhinoceros. You may end up being murdered for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
Misc: Excellent National Geographic article on rhino poaching, poachers, the demand for horn in Vietnam, and proposal to farm rhinos
Click here to read the full story
The rifle shot boomed through the darkening forest just as Damien Mander arrived at his campfire after a long day training game ranger recruits in western Zimbabwe’s Nakavango game reserve
UK: Frank Smits prepares to run the Paris Marathon in April in rhino costume
Click here to read the full story
If you’ve spotted a rhino pounding the streets of Amersham, you’re not seeing things
Misc: Hollywood actor Edward Norton helps to save the rhino by promoting “athlebrities” Richard and Philippe Flamand
Click here to read the full story
Norton gave a Twitter shout out and donation via Crowdrise to The Running Rhino’s, brothers Richard and Philippe Flamand
UK: Jeremy van Hagen from Basingstoke to run Virgin London Marathon 2012 in rhino costume
Click here to read the full story
Jeremy Van Hagen is all geared up to take on his first London Marathon – dressed as a rhino
UK: Knowsley Safari Park has stepped up security for its breeding white rhino population
Click here to read the full story
Staff at Knowsley Safari Park have been keeping up a constant ‘poacher watch’ over their herd of seven rhinos after the price for the animals’ horns reached a staggering £25,000 a kilo
USA: Major rhino horn trafficking ring busted by the law enforcement arm of USFWS
Click here to read the full story
Federal wildlife investigators in California and other states say they have cracked an international smuggling ring that trafficked for years in sawed-off rhinoceros horns, which fetch stratospheric prices in Vietnam and China for their supposed cancer-curing powers
Sweden: Malmo museum in Sweden does the sensible thing and takes its stuffed rhino + horn off public display
Click here to read the full story
The rhinoceros that normally greets visitors at a Malmö museum has been moved due to fears it may be targeted by thieves
UK: Mark Carwardine on working with Douglas Adams and Stephen Fry, Last Chance to See, and Douglas Adams The Party!
Click here to read the full story
Mark Carwardine has been kidnapped and shot at for trying to save animals. He’s swum with Great White Sharks and run from venomous lizards, and been to some of the most remote places on the planet in search of the rarest creatures… but he’s still best known as the other guy. “I really don’t mind,” he says modestly. “I’ve had a great time.”
Misc: Mary Rice of EIA doubts that legalising rhino horn trade could work, given continuing poaching for ivory
Click here to read the full story
Reports from the Environment Investigation Agency (EIA) indicate that talks are underway to legalise trade in rhinoceros horn, a move conservationists say will only boost the already ongoing illegal trade in the tropics.
UK: Merseyside Maritime Museum to show exhibition about the seizure of smuggled rhino horns at Manchester Airport in 2010
Click here to read the full story
Security fears mean that the Merseyside Maritime Museum will display replica rhino horns in a new exhibition that aims to highlight the growing illegal trade in rhino horn
Germany: Rhino horns stolen from a museum in Offenburg, Germany, as two of the four thieves distract museum staff
Click here to read the full story
A gang of four has carried out an “unbelievably audacious” theft of rhino horns worth €50 000, German police said, the latest in what appears to be a spate of similar robberies
Germany: Murder of a waitress in Germany might be linked with the theft of rhino horns from Offenburg Museum
Click here to read the full story
The latest investigations surrounding the “rhino horn mafia”, thought to be responsible for robberies in Austria and Germany has revealed that they may also have committed murder
UK: New organisation launched that aims to help rhinos and other species affected by illegal trade for wildlife-derived medicinal products
Click here to read the full story
RhiNOremedy means rhino horn cannot remedy health issues. However, as a flagship the rhino could help remedy the threats facing rhino and other species targeted due to medicinal beliefs. The organisation aims to raise awareness and support projects to protect species threatened by illegal trade, in particular for medicine. The first step is the website. Here, find information about why rhinos are so awesome, reasons behind the surge in rhino poaching, traditional medicine and why the use of endangered species in medicines is no longer necessary or acceptable. Add your free pledge to protect Victor, their mascot and follow the organisation as it develops. Together we can make a difference
Misc: Podcast of interview with Cathy Dean on John Talk Radio about rhinos, the poaching crisis
Click here to listen to the show
Misc: Rhino security booklets published by The Endangered Wildlife Trust
Click here for the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Facebook page
These booklets are available free of charge from the Endangered Wildlife Trust to Rhino owners, managers, veterinarians, government officials and interested and affected parties. Please contact Rynette Coetzee rynettec@ewt.org.za or Kirsty Brebner kirstyb@ewt.org.za. This booklet is not available electronically.
UK: Second man arrested over theft of rhino horn from Haslemere museum after appeal on BBC Crimewatch
Click here to read the full story
Tony Moore, from Tilbury in Essex, was charged with conspiracy to burgle after an appeal on the BBC Crimewatch programme led to information on the theft
Misc: South Africans support us by running the London Marathon and Going Down South!
Click here to read the full story
Tolene van der Merwe and her husband Charl van der Merwe are both entering the London Marathon in the hope of raising more than £3,000 between them. A group of South African expats are also hoping to drive from the UK to South Africa in order to raise £3,000
UK: Staff at Norwich Castle Museum in the UK manage to prevent thieves from stealing rhino horn exhibit
Click here to read the full story
A gang of thieves has been stopped from stealing a valuable rhino’s horn from a Norfolk museum
Japan: Staff at Tokyo Zoo rehearse for a rhino escape
Click here to watch the video
Two employees wore a life-size rhino costume and tried to escape the compound before being hit with fake tranquilisers and trapped in nets
Australia: Suggestion that elephant & rhino are introduced to Australia to control African gamba grass that has grown out of control
Click here to read the full story
African gamba grass, introduced in the 1930s, wreaks havoc on the landscape and provides dangerous fuel for wildfires, experts say
UK: The work of the UK’s National Wildlife Crime Unit
Click here to read the full story
Top copper Brian Stuart spent his career hunting down murderers and rapists — but his proudest achievement was when he left it all behind to become a PET Detective
Misc: Those against legalising the trade in rhino horn often point to problems with the occasional trade in ivory
Click here to read the full story
On a pillar in the Beijing Chengtian Antique City, a conspicuous warning is posted: Dealing in ivory and rhino horn products is strictly forbidden. But under secret counters in this market and in the hideaways of contraband sellers, the illegal trade of ivory is flourishing amid rising demand
Misc: TV news segment on measures being adopted to stop the rhino poaching crisis
Click here to watch the video
Poachers are among the greatest dangers to South Africa’s giant rhinos. Many criminals go after the animals’ horns, which are said to have special healing properties. Conservationists are using technology to stop poachers in their tracks
And finally: Well done & thank you to the Cambridge vet students – Team Rhino – who have launched a fundraising campaign
Click here to read the full story
Two students who are studying at Cambridge University vet school are spearheading a campaign to save the ‘near threatened’ white rhino after what started out as a study trip to South Africa
EVENTS
Rhino Trek South Africa
6-13 May 2012
We only have a couple of places left for our stunning rhino trek. This is a trip of a lifetime to South Africa’s most stunning reserves where you will encounter spectacular wildlife and track rhinos on foot. Click here for more information or contact jo@savetherhino.org
Douglas Adams The Party
11 March 2012
Sunday’s event is sold out, but you can still buy tickets for the raffle (online until 6pm on Friday 9 March and at the event until the end of the interval)! We have VIP tickets to a recording of QI and your chance to meet Stephen Fry and Alan Davies; a unique Douglas the Rhino created by Aardman animations; VIP tickets to the Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy Tour; and more. Click here for your chance to win
Rhino Climb Kilimanjaro 2012
27 Sept – 6 Oct
In September, we are arranging a special Mt Kilimanjaro climb summiting at the full moon, with a trip to Mkomazi rhino sanctuary afterwards. Join other rhino supporters as you experience this once in a lifetime challenge together. Click here for more information
Save the Rhino takes on the Marie Curie daffodil in a boxing match for the Gold Challenge…
and wins! (Natch)
Watch the video here
CORPORATE PARTNERS
Clipper Teas
www.clipper-teas.com
Check out the latest brews at Clipper Teas, specialists in organic and fairtrade teas and coffees without exploitation to people and planet; and long-standing supporters of Save the Rhino!
Ecotricity
www.ecotricity.co.uk
Ecotricity is an energy company unlike any other. It supplies homes and businesses across Britain with green energy, and then use its customers’ bills to create even more sources of renewable power – like windmills. The generation of conventional, or brown, electricity is responsible for over 30% of our carbon dioxide emissions here in the UK. That means the single biggest thing you can do to help fight climate change & reduce your carbon footprint is to switch to green electricity.
Ecotricity is an independently owned, not-for-dividend company with no shareholders or investors to keep happy, so it’s free to dedicate their money to their mission – changing the way energy is made. Over the last seven years it’s spent an average of 70p from every pound of its customers’ bills on creating new sources of green energy. No other energy supplier has spent more per customer.
Switch to Ecotricity’s Dual Fuel Tariff and it will donate £60 to Save the Rhino. Simply call 08000 302 302 and quote ‘Save the Rhino’ or go to http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/landing/?partner=SR1
Victor Stationery
http://www.victorstationery.com
Victor Stationery’s flagship brand, RHINO continues to lead the way in a major awareness and fundraising campaign across the UK in support of Save the Rhino. The partnership continues to boost our conservation work through substantial financial support and by having added the slogan “Buying Rhinos Saves Rhinos” to every new product. Check out their great range today! Buy online via Amazon
PROGRAMME GRANTS
We gave out five grants in January as follows:
£4,184 (5,000 euros) to the Lowveld Rhino Trust in Zimbabwe, thanks to Dublin Zoo. This money will go towards ongoing rhino monitoring costs. The LRT’s scouts monitor rhinos in Save Valley and Bubye Valley Conservancies, which still have important populations of black and white rhinos, despite the poaching crisis
£1,050 to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in the Laikipia District of Kenya, which has Southern white, black and 4 Northern white rhinos. Ol Pejeta donated a safari holiday to be auctioned at our PechaKucha Wild dinner last November, and 50% of the proceeds from the lot have been awarded back to OPC
$5,000 to the International Rhino Foundation for the work of the Rhino Protection Units in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in Indonesia, thanks to a repeat grant from the Taiwan Forestry Bureau. This Park is home to one of Indonesia’s three Sumatran rhino populations, and the RPUs look for signs of rhinos and other large mammals, as well as picking up snares, dealing with illegal logging and any other infringements in the Park
$22,350 from USFWS Rhino and Tiger Conservation Fund went to Save the Rhino Trust in Namibia, for a Scene-of-the-crime training course, that took place in late February and early March. Rod Potter and Wayne Evans of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, taught 20 people from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, NGOs, community conservancies and private custodians the Advanced course; 10 of those went on to do the Train-the-trainer course; and a further 60 people were given the Basic Scene-of-the-crime course: what to do if you’re the first person to find a crime scene, how to collect and record evidence, and how to present the case in court. A full write-up will be published in the spring 2012 issue of our magazine, The Horn, and will also be put up on our website
Finally, we sent £475 to the International Rhino Keepers’ Association, from the proceeds of the IRKA calendars we sold on their behalf. The funds will be granted on to the International Rhino Foundation, for our shared Operation Stop Poaching Now appeal
Thank you to all our donors, who made these grants possible.
Disclaimer: Save the Rhino International’s aim with this newsletter is to enhance access to information about rhino conservation around the world. The newsletter is produced in good faith and we hope that all information contained within it is timely and accurate. However, the charity accepts no responsibility or liability with regard to the content, and urges anyone reproducing information from it to contact the original sources before doing so
This is cool!