Every #rhino matters. - http://clapway.com/2015/08/16/ngo-saving-the-survivors-treats-mutilated-rhino-with-elephant-skin-graft-352/

Thanks to an amazing NGO in Africa and an experimental elephant skin graft, a rhino named Hope has a chance at survival after poachers brutally mutilated the young animal for her horn.

Hope the Rhino Has Been Saved By An Elephant Skin Graft

While rhino poaching is a huge problem for South Africa, veterinarians at Saving the Survivors have been working hard to ensure that rhinos who do survive the awful, traumatic act of poaching will have a speedy recovery.

Though Saving the Survivors has been in operation since 2012, the most recent rescue of a rhino called Hope has grabbed the attention of the media as the vets used skin grafts from an elephant to repair the poor creature’s damaged face.

Dr. Johan Marais and Dr. Gerhard Steenkamp are the veterinary heroes responsible for giving Hope a future. The veteranians, both from the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Veterinary Science, used a unique approach of using elephant skin grafts in a surgery that lasted over three hours. Two other vets, Dr. William Fowlds and Dr. Johan Joubert, also assisted in the remarkable procedure.

Saving the Survivors Believes Surgical Conservation for Rhinos Is Needed

The organization believes that treating rhinos that have been victims of poaching is absolutely critical in rhino conservation. The team relies on surgical conservation efforts, such as the procedure they performed on Hope, to ensure that the animals who have been left behind for dead don’t succumb to the terrible brutality of inhumane poachers.

The team believes that through their efforts, the rhino population has a better chance at recovering. Though the vets deal with emotions like rage for the poachers whenever one of these injured animals comes in minutes from death, they turn their hatred into help by using their surgical skills to restore the health of the magnificent beasts.

Along with their efforts to save Hope, the team gives a lot of credit to the brave rhino herself. She is only four years old, but her tenacious spirit and will to survive has allowed her to recover quite well at the Shamwari Game Reserve.

While the wound is still healing under a shield meant to protect her face, the doctors are still researching better alternatives to find a shield that can protect her as well as aid her healing. At the present moment, the shield is working, but her rate of recovery is just considered good, not great and the vets want to do everything they possibly can to help her out during this time of recovery.

Hope the Rhino Brings Animal Conservation to The Forefront in Africa

Hope the rhino has only been in recovery for five weeks. The vets believe she still has well over over a year to fully recover. While she is healing thanks to the team at Saving the Survivors and the Shamwari Game Reserve, we need to remember Hope is a symbol for all the other rhinos who still need animal rights conservationists to take a stand for them.

Hope’s skin graft from an elephant that died of natural causes brings more hope for other rhinos who are victims of poaching. Every rhino matters, no matter how injured, they can still be saved.

While we have an incredible team of vets at Saving the Survivors, perhaps we should also work harder to ensure the protection of our rhinos before the vets have to perform surgery on more rhinos.

Picture credits to Saving the Survivors and Daniel Haesslich

NGO Saving the Survivors Treats Mutilated Rhino with Elephant Skin Graft

Concerns Rise Over South Africa’s Ongoing Problem with Rhino Poaching - http://clapway.com/2015/08/10/concerns-rise-over-south-africas-ongoing-problem-with-rhino-poaching123/

While the world still weeps over Cecil the Lion, another troubling poaching problem plagues South Africa’s rhino population. Though poaching cases appear in court at South Africa’s Kruger National Park, the anti-poaching methods used in the African country may not be severe enough to curb the problem.

Rhino Poaching Cases On The Rise, Though High Conviction Rates Do Occur

Rhinos within South Africa’s national parks are being targeted for their horns and while the number of convictions related to rhino poaching cases are quite high, the number of cases keeps increasing.

At the Skukuza Magistrates’ Court in South Africa’s famous Kruger National Park, prosecutor Ansie Venter has seen many more people walking through the court facing a number of poaching-related charges.

Though Venter says the conviction rate is already high, she does admit that the number of cases are increasing daily. The female prosecutor believes if the sentences were more severe, the country would see a drop in poaching. In other words, the harsher the punishment, the better the deterrent.

 

South Africa’s Track Record of Rhino Poaching Is Devastating

Last year, South Africa saw the demise of over 1,215 rhinos that were poached for their beautiful, valuable horns. This year, the numbers seem to be on par to create another devastating record in rhino poaching.

Environmental Affairs minister, Edna Molewa, reported that just from January to April this year, 393 rhinos were killed for their horns. This increase is greater than 18 percent from last year at the same time according to statistics.

If these numbers grow at this pace for the remainder of the year, it will have a terrible impact on the rhino population left in South Africa.

Venter says the court is getting busier each day as the number of poaching cases increases, which shows that the government is pursuing poachers. However, mere arrests don’t necessarily mean the deaths will stop.

Are Weak Laws to Blame for Rhino Poaching?

When poachers are arrested in South Africa, prosecutors are forced to double down on the offenders with multiple charges as the country lacks specific legislation in regards to rhino poaching.

So instead of being charged for a major crime, prosecutors are forced to press for maximum sentences on multiple minor offenses committed. Rather than charging a poacher for poaching in and of itself, they are charged with trespassing, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and intent to commit a crime.

These charges do have maximum sentences, but even so, the loose regulations addressing rhino poaching hardly deter the real criminals. Not the men and women who turn to poaching to feed their families, what you can refer to as the footmen being controlled by the simple need to make a living.

While the footmen do commit the crimes, the ones orchestrating the poaching are the kingpins who find themselves above the law. The kingpins never do the dirty work, but reap all the benefits.

Though the justice system prosecutes the lowest end of the criminal chain, the law can never break all of the links that make up international crime syndicates responsible for the poaching.

South African Poachers Escape Punishment by Fleeing to Mozambique

Even when the poachers are caught, many are able to escape punishment by posting bail and fleeing the country to Mozambique where extradition treaties have never been signed.

Activists have been rallying to push for Mozambique to sign an extradition treaty as well as for South Africa to enforce harsher penalties and mandatory minimum sentencing for poachers.

While the idea of a heavier, mandatory sentence may achieve some good, when you take one poacher out, there are several more to fill his shoes and take up his gun. Though quick arrests and high conviction rates do occuring, without a steady, intense focus on building proper cases against the organized crime rings, poaching will still be an issue in South Africa.

Until legislation changes, the problem of poaching will need to be addressed in other facets. Though we can’t stop poaching in its tracks, we can help rhinos and join in the conservation efforts through organizations like Save the Rhino or the African Wildlife Foundation.

Additional Image Credit to Sascha Wenninger
Second Additional Image Credit to Chris Eason

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Concerns Rise Over South Africa’s Ongoing Problem with Rhino Poaching

Welcome Sasha, The Baby Woolly Rhino! - http://clapway.com/2015/06/21/welcome-sasha-the-baby-woolly-rhino876/

Not long ago, actually quite recently, a chance discovery was made in permafrost. First mistaken for a deer carcass, half submerged, was the small and fragile body of a 10,000 year old baby woolly rhino. It was estimated that it was about 18 months old when it passed away, and then spent the next 9,998 years (and some change) frozen in the Sakha Republic.

Sasha, the name of the baby woolly rhino, is actually the first baby of the kind found!

Does this call for a birthday celebration? Absolutely!

Baby woolly rhino was around during mammoth era

The woolly rhino walked at the same time as the impressive mammoth, but not always on the same ground. The mammoth reigned over northern Asia, most of Europe, and North America. The woolly rhino has only been found throughout Europe and Asia. But, like its mammoth cousins, it never managed to travel to North America (as far as we know).

Sasha’s species died out due to climate change and hunting by early humans.

The woolly rhino species was wiped out with climate change and hunting by early humans.

When Sasha was found, half exposed, half submerged in the ice, some lucky scavengers got to nibble on meat that was 100 centuries old.

Like with mammoth discoveries, babies are not common paleontology finds. A few adult woolly rhinos have been found, but surprisingly, we generally tend to see them more in cave drawings. And finds are so very rare, to the degree that this latest find is the first in almost 8 years.

Sasha’s modern-day descendants are in trouble

We need to understand the finding a little more. 10,000 years is a long time to be in the ice. What has happened for animals during those years shows a huge amount of evolution and resilience. This includes the evolution of the rhinoceros. The baby woolly rhino has come back to life just in time to see the end of that evolution. In fact, according to the International Rhino Foundation, in 2013, there were an estimated 44 Javan Rhinos individuals in the wild. The Sumatran Rhino is cited as having no more than 100 individuals remaining.

That was two years ago. In fact, in the wake of the baby woolly rhino, Science Advances has released a study that declares we are coming upon Earth’s sixth mass extinction. That means waving goodbye to many endangered species, including what is left of the rhinos.

This find of the baby woolly is a huge step towards DNA analysis, and understanding the Pleistocene epoch. Maybe the discovery can even help us know what to expect during the sixth mass extinction. So, welcome home, Sasha! I hope you show us how to help your modern day relatives.

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Welcome Sasha, The Baby Woolly Rhino!