When Rhinos Fly
There was good and bad news in the species conservation world last week, and since bad news tends to travel faster, here it is:
The western black rhino is extinct.
This particular rhinoceros, a subspecies that lives (or lived) in
Cameroon, was last seen in 2006, but was declared officially extinct
after years of fruitless searching. This news comes less than a month
after poachers apparently shot and killed what was believed to be the last Java rhino in Vietnam, leaving only about 50 fighting for survival in Indonesia.
And
so a lethal combination of greed and opportunity has now stolen one
more animal from the planet, never to be seen again. Millions of years
of evolution and a unique place in the world's ecosystem have been
erased in a matter of decades because of demand
related to macho pride (for Yemeni dagger handles) and baseless
superstition (traditional Chinese medicine). It's a tragic epitaph for
an animal whose formidable horn was meant to protect it, not victimize
it.
All five species of rhinos are critically endangered, and for
no other reason than because the sum of their body parts is greater than
their value alive and whole, at least in monetary terms. It's easiest
to blame the poachers because they pull the trigger, but the governments
that don't enforce their wildlife laws and the supremely selfish
individuals who buy rhino horn trophies and potions are equally
culpable, if not as catchable.
The International Union for
Conservation of Nature told the media that the western black rhino might
have been saved if stricter penalties had been imposed on traffickers
and more effort had been made to protect rhinos in their habitats. Now,
it's too late.
Thankfully
(and here is the good news), time has not yet run out for members of
another subspecies of black rhino in South Africa. Last week 19 of them
were sedated and airlifted by helicopter
-- blindfolded and upside down -- in what was deemed the safest and
quickest way to relocate them to protected territory, and none too soon;
poachers have already killed more than 350 rhinos in South Africa this
year alone. About 120 have been relocated this way and are being guarded
in an undisclosed new habitat.
Playing aerial chess with
3,000-pound animals is tricky and expensive, but it's an encouraging
sign that at least part of the human population isn't giving up on the
rhino population, not yet.
It's also a testament to the concept of
intrinsic value. Much is made of efforts to help so-called "charismatic
megafauna," the cute and/or beautiful animals such as pandas, cheetahs
and gorillas who are threatened due to habitat loss, hunting and other
factors. It's relatively easy to muster sympathy for animals to whom we
relate or find aesthetically appealing. I suppose it's a matter of
personal taste as to whether rhinos count as charismatic, but I don't
recall seeing their pictures on any of the freebie address labels I've
received in fundraising letters lately. The average person can't tell a
white rhino from a black one (especially since color isn't the defining
issue), much less name the subspecies.
And yet, many people do
care about the rhinos' survival because of the stark realization that
once they're gone, one more unique presence will be forever lost and yet
another strand in the web of life will be broken. The ethical pushback
against yet another manmade extinction is as tough as any rhino horn.
The ecological numbers game is still a fragile wager, but the stakes are
too high not to try.
Jill Howard Church, 11-12-11
Published by admin on 12/26/2011 12:47:44
