World Rhino Day September 22: Black, Indian, Javan, Sumatran, White

Save The Rhino estimates that from total populations of 500,000 at the beginning of the twentieth century, the twenty-first century’s conserved and wild numbers break down to:

• 61 Javan rhinos;

• 99? Sumatran rhinos;

• 3,333 Indian rhinos;

• 5,055 black rhinos;

• 20,405 white rhinos.

So scientists fret about twenty-first century rhinoceros extinctions foreshadowed by:

• the death of northern white rhino Nabiré (November 15, 1983 – July 27, 2015) in Czech Republic’s Dvůr Králové Zoo and the fragility of survivors Nola in California’s San Diego Zoo and Fatu, Nájin, and Sudan in Kenya’s Ol Pejeta;
• the demise of Mshindi (“Warrior,” 1993 – September 16, 2015), the black rhinoceros paint-artist of Colorado’s Denver Zoo.

They give wild rhinoceros sustainability just one decade more. 

Agro-industrial development, financial constraints, globally warmed climate change, governmental inaction/naïveté, habitat loss, hide/horn/meat poachers, natural disasters, and resource pollution hold responsibility. For example, South Africa is host to most of the world’s black and white rhinoceros populations. At the same time, the Republic joins other African and Asian countries in worst poaching experiences, as articulated by:

• black market prices of $1,100 to $5,550 per ounce of rhinoceros horn;

• poacher-effected deaths of 7 rhinos in 2007 and 1,004 in 2013;

• poacher-implemented slaughters of 749 rhinos, January 1 – August 27, 2015.

Fortunately, twenty-first century Earthlings know that environmental education, governmental enforcement, and scientific examination facilitate 30+-year life cycles and natural  histories and terrestrial presences beyond their 40,000,000+-year-old fossil evidences. 

Rhinoceros activism and awareness lead to classroom, museum, park, reserve, and zoo events worldwide. They make amateur, expert, and newbie wildlife-lovers savvy about rhino-related arts, crafts, games, tasks, and writing at captive breeding and rhinoceros protection areas in:

• Australia;

• Canada, Czech Republic;

• Germany;

• India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy;

• Kuwait;

• Namibia;

• South Africa, Swaziland;

• United Kingdom, United States;

• Vietnam;

• Zimbabwe.

So they number as most beloved endeavors lecturing, playing, and sponsoring art, donation, and literary competitions.

Each year offers something special, with favorites:

• collecting yearly posters;

• competing in races;

• painting fingernails (made of keratin, like rhino horns);

• participating in Save the Rhino’s Mount Kilimanjaro climb by way of the less-traveled Rongai route and with visits to Mkomazi National Park. 

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Distribution Map for White rhino (Ceratotherium simum), Black rhino (Diceros bicornis), Indian rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis), Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus), and Sumatra rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)
Blank World Map, Canuckguy; Indian rhino, Christophe cagé; Javan + Sumatran Rhinos, JayHenry; derivative work, NordNordWest: Canuckguy/Christophe cagé/JayHenry/NordNordWest, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rhinocerotidae_distribution_map.png

Nabiré (November 15, 1983 – July 27, 2015)
ca. 2007 image of Northern White Rhinoceros Nabiré, aged 24 years, at Dvůr Králové Zoo, Czech zoo park
Colin Groves et al., "The Sixth Rhino" (2010), Figure 9: Jan Robovský, CC BY 2.0, via PLOS ONE @ https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0009703 (specifc URL for image: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0009703)

Sumatran rhino Mother with four-day-old juvenile: Ratu and Andatu (born June 23, 2012), Day 4
Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is the smallest rhino species.
Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary (SRS), Way Kambas National Park, Lampung Province, southern Sumatra, Indonesia; photo by S. (Susie) Ellis: International Rhino Foundation, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sumatran_rhinoceros_four_days_old.jpg; International Rhino Foundation, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/rhinosirf/7472643238/

Black rhinos (Diceros bicornis) in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Ngorongoro District, Arusha Region, northeastern Tanzania, East Africa: Brocken Inaglory, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_rhinos_in_crater.jpg

Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India
Golaghat and Nagaon districts, central Assam, northeastern India; Friday, December 29, 2006: gnozef, CC BY SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kazi_rhino_edit.jpg; gnozef, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/gnozef/343982248/in/set-72157594449693934

Black rhino (Diceros bicornis) in Tanzania
photo by John and Karen Hollingsworth/USFWS: US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BlackRhino-USFWS.jpg

Amanda. 22 September 2015. “This World Rhino Day, Meet Sudan -- the Last Male Northern White Rhino in the World.” Zebra @ Books LIVE > Blog. Podcast Powered by podPress. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

• Available @ http://zebra.bookslive.co.za/blog/2015/09/22/this-world-rhino-day-meet-sudan-the-last-male-northern-white-rhino-in-the-world/

“Animal Lovers Come Together to Celebrate World Rhino Day.” AOL Inc. > News > 22 September 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

• Available @ http://www.aol.com/article/2015/09/22/why-the-rhino-species-needs-your-help/21238977/

Banham, Penny. 22 September 2015. “World Rhino Day.” A Changing Wild World: The Environment and Conservation. Blog Powered by WordPress / The Yoko Theme. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

• Available @ https://achangingwildworld.wordpress.com/tag/world-rhino-day/

“Female Nabiré, One of the Last Five Northern White Rhinos, Died.” Zoo Dvůr Králové > English > News > 28 July 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

• Available @ http://www.zoodvurkralove.cz/en/news/4226-odstavec-female-nabire-one-of-the-last-five-northern-white-rhinos-died/

Gilchrist, Jason. 22 September 2015. “World Rhino Day 2015: Spy-cam Rhinos to Take on Poachers with Devices Hidden in Their Horns.” Yahoo! News > UK & Ireland. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

• Available @ https://uk.news.yahoo.com/world-rhino-day-spy-cam-075704181.html#AtFb92y

Joyner, Alfred. 22 September 2015. “World Rhino Day: Greater One-horned Rhino Born at Whipsnade Zoo [video].” International Business Times > Science > Environment. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

• Available @ http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/world-rhino-day-greater-one-horned-rhino-born-whipsnade-zoo-video-1520610 

Martin, Sean. 22 September 2015. “World Rhino Day 2015: Rhinoceroses in Numbers.” Yahoo! News > UK & Ireland. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

• Available @ https://uk.news.yahoo.com/world-rhino-day-2015-rhinoceroses-135946428.html#220cxhh

News Desk. 21 September 2014. “Activists Celebrate World Rhino Day across the Globe.” PBS NewsHour > The Rundown > Environment. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

• Available @ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/activists-celebrate-world-rhino-day-across-globe/

"Rhino Climb Kilimanjaro." Save the Rhino > Assets. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

• Available @ http://www.savetherhino.org/assets/0000/3192/RhinoClimbKili12InfoPackFlexiDates.pdf 

“State of the Rhino.” International Rhino Foundation > Rhinos. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

• Available @ http://www.rhinos.org/state-of-the-rhino/

“World Rhino Day.” 11 Alive-TV > Video > News > Entertainment. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

• Available @ http://www.11alive.com/videos/entertainment/2015/09/22/world-rhino-day-/72605430/

"World Rhino Day." Racine Zoo > Events. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

• Available @ https://www.racinezoo.org/world-rhino-day 

“World Rhino Day at the STL Zoo.” KSDK.com > Video > News. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

• Available @ http://www.ksdk.com/videos/news/local/2015/09/19/world-rhino-day-at-the-stl-zoo/72465368/

"World Rhino Day -- 5 Favourite Rhino Moments." Traveller 24 > Explore > Bush. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

• Available @ http://traveller24.news24.com/explore/bush/world-rhino-day-5-favourite-rhino-moments-20150922 

"World Rhino Day -- Rhinos Facing Extinction." Retrieved September 22, 2015.

• Available @ http://www.wdrb.com/story/30087936/world-rhino-day-rhinos-facing-extinction 

“World Rhino Day 2015.” Save the Rhino > Events. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

•  Available @ https://www.savetherhino.org/events/1303_world_rhino_day_2015