Rhino Poaching
By Spencer Golub Pd1 Wasser 1/15
Introduction
Imagine being a rhino, calmly grazing and suddenly... BOOM! A sniper riper with piercing bullets shoots at you, wounding you just so a poacher can take your horn. Its cruel but sadly is a big threat to the rhino population. Rhino horns are very expensive and make fine sculptures, jewelry and furniture. I chose this topic because I want to inform you that rhinos will be extinct unless WE make a difference. How can I create a presentation that will persuade people that rhinos are in critical danger and we need to take action?
Poaching just got more deadly...
Sadly, the title is true. Poaching and poachers have evolved since the beginning of poaching. Poachers used to use crossbows and spears, a deadly combination but now they use sniper rifles and professional pilots with helicopters. Poachers tend to be ex- army and are trained and skilled fighters. Park rangers have a bulletproof vest and a small pistol to keep these poachers at bay. The rangers risk their lives to protect the rhinos even though they do not have as good equipment as the poachers. The rangers do not have extensive combat training and poachers normally have 3-4 members helping to kill both the rhino and ranger.
Poaching in the numbers
Poaching has reached an all time record. In 2007, just 13 rhinos were poached. In 2014, 1215 rhinos were poached. That´s a 9000% increase!!!! If the trend continues, the rhino deaths will overtake births in 2016-2018. 1/3 of all poachers are caught. There once were a million rhinos but the population has dwindled down to five thousand. All of this is just for one horn. As David Attenborough says, ¨The only way to save a rhinoceros is to save the environment in which it lives, because theres a mutual dependency between it and millions of other spices of both animals and plants¨.
Rhino Pictures
Rhino without a horn
This rhinos horn is 100% gone
Rhino with a half cut horn
This rhino is lucky that the entire horn isnt gone
Rifle aimed at the head
The poachers favorite spot
African rhino poaching crisis | WWF
What YOU can do to help
You can donate to WWF.org to provide care and protection for a rhino