Archive for the ‘Rhino’ Category

May
11

Wildlife Heroes Profiles: Rhinos

Posted by in Africa,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Featured,Field Research,Rhino

Join us on May 19th and 20th for wildlife Heroes weekend.  On May 20th we welcome Jeff Flocken, co-author of Wildlife Heroes: 40 Leading Conservationists and the Animals they are Committed to Saving for a book-signing and presentations by zoo staff on the focus species of the book. Wildlife Heroes will be available for sale at the zoo on May 20th, quantities are limited!  Books are also available for  pre-order on the Houston Zoo website at: http://www.houstonzoo.org/wildlife-heroes/for a dicounted price until May 17th.

To give you an idea of the projects covered in the book, we thought we would highlight a few of the projects the Houston Zoo supports throughout the week:

 

Raoul Du Toit: African Rhinoceros

Raoul Du Toit truly is a Rhino Hero. Raoul is the International Rhino Foundations African Rhino Program Advisor and the Director of the Lowveld Rhino Trust in Zimbabwe. He has worked for over 25 years to protect the Black Rhino and White Rhinos of Africa, two species whose populations sturggle due to habitat loss and immense poaching pressures.

The Rhinoceros has survived on our planet for millions of years and once occurred not only in Africa and Asia but in Europe andNorth Americaas well. But today, only five species of rhino survive. Four of these five species sit on the verge of extinction and the fifth, the White rhino, holds a population of less than 18,000 individuals across the African continent.

The Rhino is truly a species on the edge. Zoos, conservation organizations, and field researchers have worked together for many years to help fight for their survival. It is difficult to protect a species whose numbers have plummeted so quickly but when you consider the 25,000 rhinos worldwide are spilt between 5 species, it makes the challenge of recovery all that more daunting.

To learn more about the Houston Zoo’s work with Rhino Conservation or to support our efforts, follow the link.

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May
09

Wildlife Heroes is an awesome book, and we have the author coming to the Zoo!

Posted by in Africa,amphibians,Bats,Birds,Borneo,Bumblebees,Carnivores,Central America,Chimpanzee,community-based conservation,Conservation,Cotton-top Tamarin,Elephant,Endangered Species,Field Research,Going Green,Gorilla,Okapi,orangutan,Painted Dog,Panama,Rhino,Sea Turtles,South America,What You Can Do

Join us on May 19th and 20th for Wildlife Heroes weekend at the Houston Zoo.  On May 20th we welcome Jeff Flocken, co-author of Wildlife Heroes: 40 Leading Conservationists and the Animals they are Committed to Saving for a book-signing and presentations by zoo staff on the focus species of the book. Wildlife Heroes will be available for sale at the zoo on May 20th, quantities are limited!  Books are also available for  pre-order on the Houston Zoo website at: http://www.houstonzoo.org/wildlife-heroes/for a dicounted price until May 17th.

My first heroes were animal people.  When I went to zoos my heroes were the zoo keepers and when I watched animal documentaries the researchers were my heroes.  We all need amazing people to inspire us and that is why the new book Wildlife Heroes is so wonderful. 

The book includes 40 people overcoming impossible odds to save endangered species all over the world.  If you are looking for real heroes for your children to look up to look now further! 

The unique stories in this book of local communities becoming involved in anti-poaching, education and research efforts for wildlife in their own back yard are immeasurably inspiring!  In one story a young boy, Thia grew up in Northern Vietnam watching his village hunt the very species he fights to save today.  His passion to help a unique species called the pangolin will warm your heart!
 
I have had the honor of meeting many of the heroes in this book (including the authors) over the years and they inspire me to move forward in my own wildlife conservation work.  These are real people making a real difference! 

This book introduces readers to pollinator and amphibian decline and other environment issues that continue to threaten our world.  But it also offers great messages of hope.  In the last chapter Jack Hannah suggests ways the reader can help, and the good news is that by purchasing the Wildlife Heroes book you are already helping- 100 % of the proceeds go to the projects featured in the book.  A win for everyone!

Hope to see you at the Houston Zoo for our Wildlife Heroes weekend May 19th and 20th!

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Nov
23

Borneo’s Sumatran Rhinoceros. One step away from extinction

Posted by in Animal Origins & Fun Facts,Borneo,Conservation,Endangered Species,Featured,Field Research,Rhino

Borneo’s Sumatran Rhinoceros is literally one step away from extinction. There are an estimated 200 Sumatran rhinos surviving.  Between 12 and 25 animals remain on the island of Borneo, Sabah, Malaysia. The remainder of the population lives in three Indonesian National Parks in Sumatra: Gunung Leuser, Way Kambas, and Bukit Barisan Selatan.

Sumatran Rhinoceros "Tam". Borneo Rhino Sanctuary, Tabin Wildlife Reserve. Photo by Paul Swen.

So, at best guess, no more than 25 animals are living on Borneo in a completely fragmented habitat and it is believed that none of these have reproduced for nearly four years. A recent editorial in Malaysia’s New Strait Times paper by John Payne, a world renowned conservationist who has lived in Sabah, Borneo since the 1970′s notes that open discussions need to take place with both government and non-government organizations or we will be witness to the disappearance of yet another iconic mammal.

Too many species disappear not only from habitat loss and poaching but from the failure of organizations, with apparently the best interest of the animal in mind, to not be able to cooperate with each other. Hopefully, the Sabah Wildlife Department and partners will be able to make a difference for this species.

Sumatran Rhino, Borneo 2008

A last-ditch effort to save the species, the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary programme, is under way in Sabah, a government programme implemented by the Sabah Wildlife Department with support from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Borneo Rhino Alliance and Yayasan Sime Darby and World Wildlife Fund.

Read more: Last ditch bid to save the rhinos – Columnist – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/last-ditch-bid-to-save-the-rhinos-1.8370#ixzz1eLlVMScQ

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Nov
16

Western Black Rhino of Africa extinct

Posted by in Africa,Rhino

Did I just post two articles that two subspecies of Rhino have gone extinct within months of each other?

Yes, welcome to our reality, according to this article, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) noted in a recent reassessment of this species and the Javan species we talked about yesterday, are potentially extinct in th wild. They also note the Northern Black Rhino of central Africa is possibly extinct.

These may all be subspecies of the Black Rhino, but the more of these populations that disappear, and the more fragmented the habitat becomes, the more likely the complete Black Rhino population as a whole will become extinct in the future if conservation efforts cannot slow the decline.

“A lack of political support and willpower for conservation efforts in many rhino habitats, international organized crime groups targeting rhinos and increasing illegal demand for rhino horns and commercial poaching are the main threats faced by rhinos.”

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Nov
15

Javan Rhino declared Extinct in Vietnam

Posted by in Endangered Species,Featured,Rhino

I recently read an article excerpt which noted:

We are sad to report that a recent analysis has confirmed the extinction of the Javan rhino in Vietnam.  Data from a genetic analysis of 22 dung samples, collected by the Park and a WWF survey team from 2009 – 2010, confirmed that all of the samples belonged to one individual rhinoceros.  That same individual that was found dead in the park in April 2010, with a bullet in its leg and the horn removed – a clear case of poaching.

This was the last remaining population of Rhinoceros sondaicus on the Asian mainland and its demise is particularly sad.

The Vietnam population of Javan rhinos was only discovered in 1988.  From the mid-1990s, a number of organizations were heavily involved in efforts to conserve the rhinos in Cat Tien National Park, but ultimately, ineffective protection – a problem in most protected areas in Vietnam – caused the species’ extinction.  

The Javan rhinoceros now numbers less than 44 animals, all living in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park.  We believe that there are only three to five breeding females in that population.  Four Rhino Protection Units, funded by the International Rhino Foundation and operated through our partner, Yayasan Badak Indonesia (YABI) have prevented poaching for more than 16 years.  

 

http://www.rhinos-irf.org/

 

 

 

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Sep
22

Happy World Rhino Day!!!! By Ashley Roth, Hoofstock Keeper

Posted by in Africa,Conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research,Rhino

Happy World Rhino Day!

Today, September 22, we are celebrating all five Rhinoceros species and creating awareness about the use of rhino horn to help save these magnificent animals. The Houston Zoo is home to three White Rhinoceroses; two females and one male. Our trio of rhinos have called Houston home since October 2010. Previously they lived in Kruger National Park, which has a carrying capacity of 12,000 rhinos. When Kruger has more rhinos that they can sustain, they send younger rhinos off to institutions such as the Houston Zoo. This way we can build up a diversity of genes in captivity and also insure the safety of these animals. Several months prior to our rhinos coming to Houston, they were brought to a smaller game reserve about an hour outside of Kruger National Park. There, our rhinos had guards watching over them 24/7 in order to protect them against any possible poachers. During that time they were also trained to comfortably go into a crate that was specially designed to hold each individual rhino on their 54 hour trip from South Africa to Houston.

Our rhinos settled into their new home here at the Houston Zoo quickly, which has allowed the keepers to build strong relationships with the rhinos. Having a good relationship with your animals greatly benefits any training program. The animals will respond better to the trainer and quickly learn the behaviors asked of them. Our work with our rhinos have demonstrated their docile and playful manner, which contradicts shows and movies that have them portrayed as scary monsters that will charge at anything that moves. Since rhinos are so large and tough, they have no natural predators in the wild and will only charge when threatened. Though they have no natural predators, rhinos are facing a dilemma due to dwindling numbers caused by poaching for their horn.

The White Rhinoceros has been the only rhino success story. Their population was as low as fifty to two hundred individuals at the beginning of the 20th century. They were saved from extinction due to the help of conservation work. Their population is now between seventeen thousand and eighteen thousand individuals. The White Rhinos individual population is greater than all other four rhino species combined. However, with a growing demand for rhino horn, poaching has increased to a rate of about one rhino being poached every day.

Rhinoceros are poached only for their horns. Their horns are made of keratin; compressed hair, which is the exact same material as our own finger nails. However, many Asian cultures use rhino horn as a traditional form of medicine, even though it has been scientifically proven that there are no medicinal properties in rhino horn. It would be the equivalent to chewing on your own finger nails. Additionally, some Middle Eastern countries use rhino horn for ornamental use such as a dagger handle which is a status symbol in their countries.

Unfortunately, poachers are using very high tech equipment and also poaching at night, making it more difficult for parks and reserves to protect the rhinoceros. A large majority of the poaching occurs in South Africa, which alone is home to about ninety-three percent of the White Rhinoceros population. The poaching is now been determined to not be a crime of poverty. Criminal syndicates control the poaching of rhinos, which also makes it more difficult to fend against as they are highly organized and intelligent gangs. Recently, studies have a correlation between the increased number of Asian businesses in Africa and poaching being at a sixteen year high. The Houston Zoo’s trio of rhinos are animal ambassadors for their counter parts in the wild. They not only represent White Rhinoceros, but all five species of rhinos as a whole. With our help, we can save these animals and pull them back from the brink of extinction. Every individual makes a difference. Conservation cannot be effective if done alone. The sharing of knowledge, raising awareness and the spread of compassion for these spectacular creatures is what will make the difference. Rhinos have existed for over fifty million years. It would be a shame to loss such a big part of the ecosystem due to the selfish measures of several groups of people. The Houston Zoo assists and supports an organization that fights you to save rhinos in the wild called the Iternational Rhino Foundation.  To Find out what we are doing and how you can help click HERE.

Written by Ashley Roth, Houston Zoo Hoofstock keeper

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Jun
22

To Save a Species

Posted by in Africa,Animal Origins & Fun Facts,Conservation,Endangered Species,Rhino

Though the articles are not readily picked up by Associated Press or internet wires, we frequently receive notices and links from colleagues about illegal poaching issues. One day it may be 250 Pangolins seized in the back of a truck, another it is the senseless poaching of a gorilla or the never-ending battle to protect rhinos from poaching syndicates who want nothing more than their horn.

With only 5 species totaling 25,000 individuals, at best, spread across Africa and parts of Asia, every loss is another setback in the recovery of the Rhino. Some of the largest numbers of remaining rhino occur in South Africa and recent report notes that so far this year (June, 2011) over 100 rhinos have been killed in South Africa alone, nearly 70% of those in Kruger National Park. Over the 12 months of 2010, 330 animals were lost. Since 2008 – 800 individuals. Most rhino horns leaving Africa are destined for Southeast Asian medicinal markets that are believed to be driving the poaching epidemic.

Even with these losses, protection measures are helping species such as the white rhino and black rhino slowly increase with both populations up by 10% or more since 2007. The International Rhino Foundation offers a better understanding of individual species numbers:

White rhino: 20,150

Black rhino: 4,840

Greater One-horned rhino: 2,800-2,850

Sumatran Rhino: 200

Javan Rhino: 40-50

But the species will never fully recover without reduction in the illegal poaching trade. Zoos such as ours not only offer visitors an opportunity to view species such as these up close, but we are completely dedicated to the conservation of rhinos and many other species around the world. Through a percentage of admission ticket sales, gifts and support from the public, we are able to support conservation heroes working in the field to help protect these iconic species. For more information on our rhino conservation program link here. To support rhino conservation firsthand, join us for our Bowling for Rhinos event at Palace Bowling Lanes this Friday.

If you would like to contribute directly to rhino conservation contact conservation@houstonzoo.org

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Feb
17

Houston Zoo Wildlife Conservation is on Facebook!

Posted by in Africa,amphibians,Attwater's Prairie Chicken,Black bears,Borneo,Carnivores,Chimpanzee,community-based conservation,Conservation,Elephant,Endangered Species,Field Research,Galapagos,Going Green,Gorilla,orangutan,Painted Dog,Panama,Rhino,Travel

 

Booming chickens on prairies and adventures to find bear hair in the Big Thicket. Leech infested forests? Monsoons? Leg swallowing mud and Sea Gull poo? Wild Orangutans that use bridges and toads with implants.  Confused? Don’t be. Join us and interact with local and global conservation on our new Houston Zoo Conservation Facebook page. Keep up with the conservation department and our partners in the field, and don’t forget to comment along the way!

Link here and follow along: http://www.facebook.com/#!/houstonzooconservation

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Dec
02

Zimbabwe Lowveld Rhino Trust

Posted by in Africa,Conservation,Rhino,What You Can Do

Now you can Text keyword RHINO to 20222 and donate 5 dollars to African Rhino Conservation. Supporting Wildlife has never been easier. The Rhino is truly a species on the edge. Zoos, conservation organizations, and field researchers have worked together for many years to help fight for their survival. Your support will assist the Houston Zoo and International Rhino Foundation protect Rhinos in Africa.

Rhino poaching in Zimbabwe (home to the fourth largest population of Critically Endangered black rhinos in the world) more than doubled in 2008. Up to 25% of Zimbabwe’s nearly 800 rhinos have been brutally killed by organized gangs of poachers over the past three years, just for their horn. Spurred by the demand for rhino horn for use in traditional Asian medicine, and the increased purchasing power of several Asian countries, rhino poaching across Africa has reached a 15-year high. In early 2009, the rate of rhino poaching in Zimbabwe reached a critical level, and the rhino population in the Lowveld region (home to nearly 80% of the country’s total black rhino population) actually started to decline for the first time in many years. Last year, 56 rhinos were lost from the Lowveld conservancies, and at least 13 rhinos were killed in state lands and other areas.

In response to this crisis, the International Rhino Foundation and our partner, the Lowveld Rhino Trust, moved 60 black rhinos from areas with high poaching risk to ‘safer’ areas where they could be adequately protected. Prior to these translocations, an average of 9 rhinos per month were being poached in the Lowveld region of Zimbabwe. After the emergency translocations, the loss rate was reduced to an average of only 2 rhinos per month. These emergency operations have made a real difference in the fight to secure Zimbabwe’s rhino population, dramatically reducing the number of rhinos exposed to high poaching risk and allowing protection efforts to be better concentrated in more manageable areas. And, in 2010, the Lowveld black rhino population began to increase again.

Our goal now is to further suppress the rate of loss to poaching and to ensure that the Lowveld rhino population continues to grow, and to keep applying pressure for Zimbabwe to improve its anti-poaching and law enforcement efforts. If we can successfully protect Zimbabwe’s rhinos during the current crisis and pressure the government to crack down on poaching, then this species can still have a bright future.

A one-time donation of $5 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. You can Text RHINO up to six times in support of this program.Messaging & Data Rates May Apply. Donations are collected for the benefit of the Houston Zoo by the Mobile Giving Foundation and subject to the terms found at www.hmgf.org/t or txt HELP.STOP to cancel

Text keyword RHINO to 20222 and protect a rhino today!

To make a contribution to help IRF protect Zimbabwe’s rhino from poachers, please visit: http://www.rhinos-irf.org/donations/. To read more about our Zimbawe black rhino conservation program, please visit: http://www.rhinos-irf.org/lowveld/.

Nov
30

Give the Gift of RHINO Conservation

Posted by in Africa,Conservation,Rhino,What You Can Do

Now, you can Text keyword RHINO to 20222 and donate $5 to African Rhino Conservation. Supporting Wildlife has never been easier! The Rhino is truly a species on the edge. Zoos, conservation organizations, and field researchers have worked together for many years to help fight for their survival. Your support will assist the Houston Zoo protect Rhinos in Africa.

A one-time donation of $5 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. You can Text RHINO up to six times in support of this program.Messaging & Data Rates May Apply.  Donations are collected for the benefit of the Houston Zoo by the Mobile Giving Foundation and subject to the terms found at www.hmgf.org/t or txt HELP.STOP to cancel

Text keyword RHINO to 20222 and protect a rhino today!

At the beginning of the 20th Century, the white rhino was perhaps the most endangered of the five rhino species, having been reduced to only a handful of animals, but its numbers have rebounded incredibly to a population of more than 11,000, thanks to successful conservation efforts both in captivity and in the wild, and the species is no longer considered threatened. The black rhino, by comparison, has been seriously reduced in numbers to only a few thousand individuals in Africa’s Miombo-Mopane Wilderness region and is listed as Critically Endangered by IUCN-The World Conservation Union.

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