By Meghan Frank
Rock Center
Just days after we aired “Last Stand,” a Rock Center story on the epidemic of illegal rhino poaching in South Africa, we received horrible news. Poachers had attacked three of the rhinos featured in our report.
Our Rock Center investigation that aired in February looked at the dramatic spike in rhino poaching in South Africa. The rise in illegal poaching stems from a growing demand for rhino horn in Asia, where the horn is believed to be a miracle cure.
On the night of March 2, poachers targeted several rhinos that belonged to Graeme Rushmere, the owner of Kariega Game Reserve in South Africa. Veterinarian Will Fowlds, who was also featured in our story, rushed to the scene to try to save the injured rhinos. Fowlds found one of the rhinos dead at the scene, but the two others were still alive, clinging to life. Poachers had shot the rhinos with tranquilizer darts, hacked through their skulls with a machete to get every inch of their horns and left them to bleed to death.
Fowlds and the Kariega team began working around the clock to try to save the two surviving rhinos, a female rhino named Thandi and a male named Themba. Fowlds cleaned their wounds, injected them with antibiotics and gave them medicine to try to ease their pain. For weeks Fowlds and the game reserve staff monitored and tended to the rhinos, but after surviving for nearly a month, Themba died from his injuries. Thandi is still alive.
The traumatic experience of trying to save these severely injured rhinos has been heartbreaking for Fowlds, but it’s also been a call to arms.
“I made a promise to a dead rhino, his name was Themba, that I would make every single day, all 24 days of suffering, count, that I would do everything in my ability to turn suffering into a pain-free future for other rhino,” Fowlds said.
Themba’s death is part of a scourge that’s threatening the rhinos in South Africa and the species as a whole. Already this year poachers have slaughtered more than 170 rhinos for their valuable horns.
Rhino horn has long been prescribed to cure fevers and colds in traditional Asian medicine, but demand in recent years has skyrocketed, and some experts believe this is due to a rumor circulating in Vietnam that rhino horn cures cancer. Scientists have found rhino horn’s medicinal value to be next to nonexistent, but demand continues to grow and the price of rhino horn rises with it. Gram for gram, rhino horn can be more valuable than gold or cocaine.
South Africa is trying every means possible to protect the species, but poachers are wiping out rhinos at a rate of more than one a day and conservationists fear the poaching will continue to rise. Already the killing this year is poised to outpace last year’s record death toll of 448 rhinos.
Fowlds says he is trying not to get thrown into a state of despair by the figures.
“The fear of where this is heading could quite easily paralyze us if we don't remain focused on that which we are able to do. In this war, being fought on so many sides, the most important thing is for each one of us to take care of our portion of the frontline,” Fowlds said.
At the moment, Will Fowld’s frontline is tending to the wounds of Thandi, who is still fighting against all odds to stay alive.
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I like the idea of flooding the market with counterfeit rhino horn. Easy to do and harms no one.
What if we tranquilized as many rhinos as possible, and flew them out of Africa to sanctuaries set up in other countries like Britain, France, US, Canada etc... Putting animals into captivity is not a great solution, however it would save the rhinos from going extinct until a better solution was found. These sanctuaries could be funded by tourists. There could even be lodges for tourists to stay overnight amongst the rhinos - like an eco holiday.
There are not enough resources in Africa to protect the rhinos in their natural habitat. If enough countries came together and got involved, we could find a way to save a good number of these beautiful animals. Once they are extinct, we have lost them forever. Something must be done.
The long term solution to the problem of rhino poaching is education. The Asian demand is fuelled by ignorance, they simply do not know any better. Unfortunately it will take a long time to educate people, and in the interim the rhinos will be poached into extinction.
The best solution at the moment is to try and save as many rhinos as possible. We can do this by getting the rhinos out of these African countries and into sanctuaries around the world where they cannot be poached.
The African countries are just too poor to adequately protect the rhinos. We also have to remember the poachers are acting out of desperation. The countries in which these poachers live are horrifyingly poor, and poaching offers a way for these people to make a lot of money. It's easy to say kill the poachers, but there is a bigger problem here that needs to be addressed.
Again I think education could go a long way towards changing the situation. But education takes time - time that we and the rhinos do not have.
these capitalist can be heartless
You again have shown and proved how much of a fool you truly are!!!!!!!!
I hear that the testicles of asian males makes great fertilizer for your tomato garden! Let the hunt begin!
Only if they have consumed Rhino horn. Otherwise they're no different then anyone else. Tattoo them with a big red R H and declare open season.
Get one of the rich animal fund donors to supply 50 or 100 trustable locals with weapons and training and have them go poacher poaching. Supply food, transport, communications etc and a moderate paycheck. Problem solved.
Why isn't somebody poaching the poachers?
Read my post!!!
Hi truesaid;
I'll volunteer just for expenses; Can you come also ?
I saw a report somewhere recently that they were injecting a red dye directly into the horns that is toxic to humans but safe for the Rhinos. I wonder why this news hasn't become widespread. Ruin the healing value of the horn and save the animal.
Hey Kfrog;
Why don't we inject those human animals with something that will make their little needles shrink even more than they are?
There must be dire consequences in place for the killing of these animals......A life for a life ......or better yet 10 for 1 as these individuals hunt them in packs. These poachers should be killed on site if they are even found to possess the horns. It will be a very sad day when the last Rhino is gone .....
Brian - By disclosing the location in your well done Rock Center report you have unwittingly caused the death of at least two rhinos with a third barely clinging to life. You fed the barbarous poachers with data they needed. Man up and get NBC to fund efforts to protect the rhino. And, with respect, next time think about cause and effect.
This is one of the so many reasons that HUMANS are unworthy of Gods Grace and eternal life in His Heaven. People make me SICK
Instead of throwing all of humanity under the bus, why don't we just focus on stopping the evil poachers.
Then shoot, hang, take an overdose, dive under a bus or subway, and spare us your self pity and grief!!!!!
Someone should just start a rumor that rhino horn has no benefit and actually causes diseases.
When they catch the poachers and they are found guilty, they need to be the animals in a hunt and let them be extinguished as they did to these rhinos.
I bet that would have an affect on poaching! Get caught, now you are the target as an unarmed animal!!!
I am in no way against hunting, but poaching is a different story. All in legal realms not outside of the realm!!!
I almost think there's a bit of lawlessness in Africa, so if there's any vigilantes who take up the cause and make poachers open season, (dare I say it), it would be refreshing. Rhino revenge would have its day.
I despise poachers!!!
I would throw these inhuman barbaric bastards, who were born to shi*ty a*s holes, inside a mulching machine. They should be pulverized to nothing infront of their community. This should go on and on, so that no one would dare to go after these animals. The people who purchase these horns should be thown inside a jail for life.
How long does it take for a rhino horn to regrow? A possible solution to this matter is to farm and breed several rhinos and reap and sell their horns on a more legitimate market, thereby lessening the value of the poached horns and driving down demand.
A rhino horn can be safely removed, I'm fairly sure. Worth more than gold I figure a rhino horn farm could be a real market, and save the rhinos in the wild by driving down the worth of the prized horns.
Another flood the market solution would be to manufacture counterfeit horns that are indistinguishable from the real deal to make the rhino poaching not worth the risk by driving down the value of the horns.
Poachers like this should be shot on sight, no questions asked!
I worked in Africa for many years and poaching is indeed a problem.
But the problem is Universal Greed.
In Asia rhino horn cures cancer. And male sexual difficulties. I think the latter gets the greatest monetary return.
However, for every rhino horn, our prospecting for energy kills whole colonies of plants (some cancer curing) and animals. Our waters are fouled for decades.
Univeral greed.
I'd be more than willing to pick up my AK-47 and rid the planet of them all.
Human Variety with a few rare exceptions.
I don't get it?
The penalty for poaching Rhino's should be death. Instantly.
If caught poaching, handcuff the hands behind the back, be forced to kneel in front of a grave, & shoot them in the back of the head.
End of problem, end of story.
Hey Granny;
run for congress; I'll vote for you as many others will,since backbones in washington apparently are endangered species.
Donate!! This is the best way to do whatever you can to help these majestic beasts, and the ongoing efforts to save them by Dr. Will Fowlds. There is a link to donate to the Wilderness Foundation, which I did today. Please be generous -- the survival of this species depends on each and every one of us!
Why all this racism and killing talk? Why not just replace
the horn cures cancer rumor with poacher gonads cures cancer rumor.
It appears you cannot add a link to Dr. Fowld's page from this forum to donate -- it is: williamfowldsdaytoday (dot) blogspot (dot) com
PLEASE DONATE!!!! This is the blog page for Dr. Will Fowlds, and chronicles his struggles and methods to save these majestic beasts, among others. I donated today -- this is the best and only way we can truly make a difference in the survival of this species. Please be generous.
Why do people who eat Meat complain a lot of these Rhinos that are getting killed for its horn, or meat or skin or whatever?
Dead meat on your dinner table is a dead cow or a chicken or a pig (or dogs or snakes in some parts of South Korea or China or Texas)
It is an animal that is getting killed - there is no difference between killing 1000 Rhinos, 1000 chickens, 1000 pigs or 1000 cows or 1000 rare species of sharks or whales off the coast of Japan.
Human greed is there in every part of the world and it differs in the way it is expressed.
Recognizing that the LIFE force in a cow or a Rhino or a human is the same LIFE force in US (humans) is the best way to deal with it.
Life depends on other forms of LIFE to sustain (or live) - this is the law of nature. But we humans with our intelligence have treated animals as food (more so in the western or desert cultures - read as Christian or Islam culture). Kill and conquer and store and eat - is the name of the game for 1000s of yrs. Rhinos getting killed in Africa - forget it.
Stop complaining if you eat meat. somebody is killing for meat, someone-else for skin, other person tusk, horn -whatever ...it is all the same..
The day you recognize that we are the most intelligent species on earth and eat NO meat and depend on plant based food , where the damage to LIFE form is minimal or almost nil, compared to killing to animal - then we make progress as a species...!
Rest of reaction if all NOISE in the big scheme of things...
Blame the F ing Chinese , they are still in the 16 century! all for a hard on! buy viagra or something, smoke MJ, that will do it. Or get stents so your blood flow works again, stop killing Rinos.
Hey buffalo 791218; we dare not offend BO's close friends, especially since they own most of our debt !!
The Black Rhino is extinct in the wild now they want to do the same to the white (wide) pressure should be put on the countries like China and Yemen who import .
Make the punishment harsh like those for hard drugs or illegal arms then we might see a difference .
Hey Beasley;
If enough Americans would get expenses, commissions and immunity to go after these human animals, we could stop this in two weeks.