RhinoHub Celebrates World Rhino Day
September 22 was named World Rhino Day by WWF-South Africa in 2010. Since then, it is a day celebrated by conservationists, organizations, businesses, and rhino lovers alike. According to the World Rhino Day website, the idea started as an email chain between two women, Lisa Jane Campbell from the Chishakwe Ranch in Zimbabwe and a National Geographic guest rhino blogger named Rhishja, who wanted a special day for rhino awareness. It has since grown into an international effort to spread awareness for the world’s five species of rhino:
- Sumatran Rhino
- White Rhino
- Black Rhino
- Javan Rhino
- Greater One-Horned Rhino
NGOs, zoos, cause-related businesses, and rhino lovers come together every year on September 22 to donate to the rhino cause, engage on social media, and teach about the rhino’s plight in classrooms. Watch the compilation below to see how communities around the world celebrate World Rhino Day:
Rhino Poaching
Rhino poaching is an international crisis. Poachers kill rhinos, often quite cruelly, to harvest their horns and sell them on the black market. Many cultures, mostly in the East, believe the rhino horn has medicinal qualities and it has become a symbol of wealth and success.
Poachers are often part of larger international crime organizations that help fund and arm their illegal activity. Armed poachers rhinos’ number-one enemy, but they also make the surrounding communities that live amongst the herds and near the parks more dangerous.
Most of the world’s rhino population is in South Africa. While other factors contribute to the rhino’s decline including loss of habitat and ecological hardship, poaching is the number one killer of the rhino.
Organizations around the world work hard every day to make South Africa safer for rhinos and their human co-inhabitants. Their efforts are the reason that rhinos are still here.
Good News
The status of the rhino species set by the IUCN is as follows:
- White rhino - near threatened
- Black rhino - critically endangered
- Greater one-horned rhino - vulnerable
- Sumatran rhino - critically endangered
- Javan rhino - critically endangered
The southern white rhino was thought to be extinct in the 1950s and 1960s, but thanks to conservation efforts, rehabilitated herds now thrive in protected sanctuaries. In fact, the subspecies are now the most numerous of all five species today.
The northern white rhino is unfortunately extinct in the wild and there are only two individuals (both females) living in the world. They are both at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. In positive recent news, however, scientists were able to harvest eggs from the last two remaining northern white female rhinos. With the help of artificial reproduction, the northern white rhino population is a step closer to avoiding extinction.
While the number of rhinoceros poached for their horns has decreased steadily since 2013, two and a half rhinos are killed on average every day. The rhino species is slowly growing but there is still a lot of work to be done.
RhinoHub and Helping Rhinos
Here at RhinoHub, the rhino is not just a symbol of our work ethic. While we consider ourselves thick-skinned, curious, resilient, and determined like the rhino, we also love the animal and can’t stand the senseless poaching. That’s why we dedicate our time and digital marketing capabilities to Helping Rhinos, a rhino conservation non-profit. We wish we could help with anti-poaching efforts on the ground, but we are doing what we can to ensure that future generations can also enjoy rhinos.
Helping Rhinos is an incredible conservation organization. The money Helping Rhinos raises goes toward caring for orphaned rhinos, supporting anti-poaching patrols, and monitoring black and white rhino herds. But they aren’t just a donation-based organization. They also invest in education, community, political advocacy, and protecting the rhino habitat.
If you would like to contribute to the conservation efforts of Helping Rhinos, consider donating here. And if you’re celebrating World Rhino Day on social media on September 22 don’t forget to use these hashtags! It’s a great way to contribute to the international conversation and raise awareness.
- #worldrhinoday
- #protectrhinos
- #worthmorealive
- #DontLetThemDisappear
- #getdungdone
Photo Credits: Bill John