Rhino dehorning – a necessary, yet tough, short term solution. The rhino has walked the earth for 50 million years and within our lifetime they may go extinct. Not because of ice ages, meteors, volcanos or lack of food since they have managed to survive the most hostile environments and natural disasters. But they didn’t count of the worst threat to have ever walked the planet – humans. Poaching remains a significant threat to the global rhino populations. In 2023, at least 586 rhinos were poached across Africa, marking a 4% increase from 2022. The price per kilo for a horn is around 65-85,000 USD, so approximately the same value as gold. A solution that many wildlife reserves have started to implement is dehorning. The wildlife experts professionally remove the horn before it grows large in order to save the rhino from being killed. It also protects the anti-poaching units from being attacked while defending the rhinos. Between 2011 and 2021, 565 ranger deaths were recorded in Africa. In 2021 alone, a record of 92 rangers died making it’s a dangerous job to guard the African wildlife. One game reserve that has been very successful in this is Jumeirah Thanda Safari where we recently participated in rhino dehorning efforts. The dehorning takes much effort and is expensive due to helicopters, veterinarians, wildlife experts and rangers that need to be a part of this process. Thank you @jumeirahthandasafari and @pierreviviendelvaux for the incredible work you do to save the African wildlife. If you wish to learn more about rhinos, support Thanda’s conservation programs, or visit their wildlife conservation sites, please visit thandafoundation.com or thanda.com.
