Coming Face to Face With the Rhino Poaching Crisis
African Wildlife FoundationJan 13, 2023
The number of endangered rhinos poached in Namibia reached an all-time high in 2022 with 87 animals being killed compared to 45 in 2021 — a 93% increase. Most were poached in Namibia's largest park.
Over the decades, Africa's rhino population has been decimated to meet the demand for their horns in East Asia, which are prized as a supposed medicine and as jewelry despite being made of the same material as rhino hair and fingernails.
Poaching is a savage and brutal practice. Some believe that shooting poachers on sight will reduce the problem, but that approach fails to address the root of the issue — namely, that countries demanding rhino horns enable its purchase by driving up demand for the product. The horns sell for $60K per kilogram on the black market, which is more than gold or cocaine. If we want to save the rhinos, we need to come up with a new plan because this one isn't working.
Botswana reported a dramatic drop in rhinoceros poaching in 2022 after taking further steps to protect its shrinking rhino population. After losing 126 animals between 2018 and 2021, only six rhinos were killed in Botswana in 2022. This is due to a robust national anti-poaching structure that deploys the army to poach hotspots, dehorning the rhinos, and moving the animals away from vulnerable areas. However, another reason could be that the poaching syndicates literally have cleaned it out and taken their business to neighboring countries.
There's a 50% chance that at least 24.6% of Earth's land will be protected for wildlife by January 1, 2050, according to the Metaculus prediction community.