It’s estimated that rhinoceros horn is valued at
around AU$185,000 per kilogram, three times the
value of gold, there’s little wonder it’s a highly sought
after commodity throughout Asia. Once a mainstay
of Chinese traditional medicine it is now a symbol of
status, a symbol of extreme wealth.
In the earlier part of the 20th Century, species of
rhino were on the brink of extinction, the White rhino
was down to just 10 in the wild and while in a better
position the Black rhino was also threatened and
believed that approximately only 100 existed.
Conservation work throughout the middle of the
century brought numbers back and by the 1960s it
was estimated that Black Rhino numbers were back
to around 100,000. Sadly, it didn’t last long. By 1992 it
is said that over 90% of the population was wiped out
again due to the demand in Asia.
Conservation work continues and while numbers
have stabilised less than 25,000 rhinos survive in the
wild. Programs operate throughout Asia to educate
that rhino horn offers no medicinal purpose, yet the
Chinese government reversed an order stating such
in 2018 suggesting that rhinos will again be hunted to
extinction.
Similar programs of education are underway in
southern Africa, conservation is high on the agenda
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