White Rhino Extinction Draws Near, South Africa Plans to Save Them

White rhino extinction, at least for one out of two subspecies of the rhinoceros extant species, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has shocked conservationists and scientists around the world in recent years.

Humanity has seen the extinction of the group's northern white rhinoceros in the wild due to rampant, continuous poaching amid illegal wildlife trade and trafficking.

In the DRC, South Africa has planned to conserve and prevent the white rhino population from going extinct by re-populating the country with several of the animals.

This occurred almost 16 years after the last remaining member of the northern white rhino subspecies died from poaching, a common human activity even in some protected wildlife areas in Africa.

While widespread hunting during colonial times reportedly contributed to the decline of the white rhinoceros population, people killing them for their horns have continued today, which could drive the remaining survivors into extinction.

One such case is in Africa, where remaining white rhinos are at risk as demand for their body part persists.

White Rhino Extinction

(Photo : Image by Nel Botha from Pixabay)

With the northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) becoming extinct, the remaining population of southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) has significantly decreased as well due to losses from poaching.

In total, the southern white rhino subspecies incurred a population decrease of almost 12% in the last four years, plummeting from 18,067 to less than 16,000 this year, according to the International Rhino Foundation.

Being the second-largest land mammal on Earth next to elephants, the white rhino has been one of the targets of widespread poaching amongst wild animals.

Despite conservation efforts in recent years, poachers and other individuals linked to the illegal practice have still managed their way to harm or kill some of these animals.

Also Read: Can Scientists Bring the Northern White Rhino Back from Functional Extinction?

DRC White Rhino Population

On Sunday, July 9, the Telegraph reported that a cargo plane from South Africa, carrying eight large boxes, weighing a ton per piece, arrived at the DRC.

The boxes contained eight white rhinoceros as conservationists have an "ambitious plan" to bring the endangered white rhino species back to a nation where it went extinct, the U.K. media outlet reported.

The animals were reintroduced at the Garamba National Park, located in Garamba in the northeastern part of the African country.

The white rhinos came from a South African private reserve.

The return of the animals signifies the country's commitment to biodiversity conservation, according to Yves Milan Ngangay, a DRC conservation official, as cited by Phys.org, the website EcoWatch reported.

Rhino Poaching Threat

As mentioned earlier, there is an ongoing demand for rhino horn worldwide, but primarily for usage in traditional Chinese medicine.

With South Africa being home to the majority of rhinos across the world, poachers are heavily targeting them (not just white rhinos) according to the organization Save The Rhino.

The World Wildlife Fund states the white rhino is considered to be a "near threatened" species, adding their near extinction is caused by decades-long killing for their horns.

Related Article: Eggs Taken From the Remaining Two Northern White Rhinos Might Rescue the Species