Are Rhinos Extinct?

Many kids are obsessed with unicorns; the agile, beautiful, and unfortunately mythical one-horned horse. Other kids love dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are pretty cool. They’re big, strong, and unfortunately, extinct.

But did you know that there’s an animal out there that’s a combination of both? You can find them either grazing the savannahs of Africa, in the grasslands of India, or even on the islands of Indonesia. In fact, their scientific name is literally R. unicornis!

If you haven’t figured it out already, let me introduce you to the mighty Rhinoceros.

Built like a tank, but faster than a sprinting human, rhinos are absolute units. In fact, rhinos are the second largest terrestrial mammals in the world!

In the nineteenth century, we could find rhinos all over Africa. A few species even had healthy populations in regions of Asia, such as India and Indonesia. Currently, there are five species of rhinos found around the world. In terms of their distribution, three of them are spread across Asia and two can be found in parts of Africa. We can find Javan and Sumatran Rhinos in Indonesia and we can find One-Horned or Indian rhinos in certain parts of India.

Over in Africa, we have two easy-to-remember species: the Black and White rhinos. (Fun fact: Both species are actually grey!)

At the turn of the twentieth century, there were around 500,000 rhinos all over the world.

However, rhino populations have hit tough times recently. There are only approximately 27,000 left in the world today. That is quite a dramatic fall in numbers. So, naturally, the question arises: Are rhinos going extinct? Let’s find out.

A Vanishing Act

The rhinoceros is a critically endangered animal. What does this mean? Essentially, this means that rhinos, compared to other animals—for example, wildebeests—are more likely to go extinct. A few subspecies of rhinos, such as the Northern White Rhino and the Western Black Rhino, are unfortunately already

extinct in the wild When a species no longer exists except for a few individuals or a small population in captivity or re-introduced outside their natural range

.In fact, only two female Northern White rhinos are left in Africa. These two rhinos, a mother and her daughter, live in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. The main factor that drives rhino extinction is poaching. Poachers are illegal hunters. They hunt rhinos for their horns. Rhino horns are made from

keratin A protein that makes up our hair and nails. Rhino horns are also made up of this protein

, the same stuff that makes up our hair and nails. Rhino horns are considered valuable

commodities An item or thing that has value or use. We can trade this item (say, a rhino horn) for another item that has equal or greater value.

and are used for their supposed “medicinal” properties, as well as for decoration and as symbols of power or status.

The fight for survival

Not all hope is lost.

Conservationists A person who advocates or works for the preservation of natural resources, wildlife, and wilderness

, scientists, and forest guards work around the clock to try and protect rhinos from stumbling into extinction. They go to extreme lengths to safeguard the species. For example, the last two Northern White rhinos are always under constant watch. In fact, they have guards watching them 24 hours a day! Another unique approach conservationists take to counter rhino poaching is to shave off their horns. The logic behind the move is that poachers won’t hunt rhinos if rhinos don’t have any horns. Don’t worry, this doesn’t hurt the rhino at all.

Veterinarians A doctor who treats animals.

inject the rhinos with

sedatives A drug that causes sleep

and

anesthetics A drug that stops a person from feeling pain

to make sure the rhino is asleep and doesn’t feel a thing.

Readability: 63.7

Flesch Kincaid Grade Level: 7.4

Glossary

Keratin: A protein that makes up our hair and nails. Rhino horns are also made up of this protein.

Commodities: An item or thing that has value or use. We can trade this item (say, a rhino horn) for another item that has equal or greater value.

Veterinarian: A doctor who treats animals.

Conservationist: A person who advocates or works for the preservation of natural resources, wildlife, and wilderness

Extinct in the wild: When a species no longer exists except for a few individuals or a small population in captivity or re-introduced outside their natural range

Sedative: A drug that causes sleep

Anesthetic: A drug that stops a person from feeling pain