Rhino species extinct due to African rangers selling out

By Rose Carver

Last updated: 06/10/13 5:08pm

Another one of Earth’s majestic creatures has bitten the dust forever.

The western black rhino, a subspecies of the black rhino, was declared extinct last month by The International Union for Conservation of Nature, as no sightings of the creature have been reported since 2006. The blame rests entirely on us humans, or more specifically, on the greed of humans.

The western black rhino, which lived for millennia in the southern part of Africa, was killed off by the ceaseless efforts of poachers. According to a May 7, 2013 article in Earth First News, the horns are desired because of a superstition in some countries that they can cure or prevent everything from cancer to a headache after a night of too much drinking.

According to the conservation site SavetheRhino.org, the rich elite in Asian countries have a high demand for the rhino horn as a symbol of wealth. The horn is ground up and used in a tonic drink. Traditional Chinese medicine has long used rhino horn to treat high fevers and convulsions, as well as clearing out toxins from alcohol consumption.

Affluent persons in Vietnam are the population who most frequently use rhino tonic as a hangover cure, but also to help treat cancer as cultural superstition recommends. According to TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, evidence strongly suggests the promotion of claims of the miracle curative powers of the rhino horn is simply a contemptuous marketing ploy to increase the profitability of the trade. It seems pretty ridiculous for an entire species to die due to a false superstition and the profit that can be made by playing off fear.

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