The status of rhinos in the world, the largest land animal after the elephant, remains alarming: from 500,000 individuals at the beginning of the 20th century to just 27,000 today. Only some populations, such as Indian rhinos, show some improvement.
The wild Indian rhino population is experiencing some improvement in conservation. At least, this is what shows the increase in the population of this species over the past year, and It allowed India to pass from 3,700 Indian rhinos to 4,014 wild individuals.
This was highlighted by the Terra Natura Benidorm trainers at the event this week. zoo experienceto commemorate World Rhino Day celebrated this Thursday.
Of all the rhino species that exist in the world, it is the only Indian rhino that has managed to recover somewhat, as the opposite occurs in rhinos on the African continent. Special, Three of the five existing rhino species are at high risk of extinction. The rhino is one of the largest land animals in the world and its biggest threat is humans.
Terra Natura Benidorm is considered a reference center in the care, management and conservation of Indian rhinos at the European level. In fact, it is the only Spanish park that has managed to reproduce its species up to twice on its premises. The last calf born at this center is three years old and already weighs around 1,000 kilos.
Rhinos were nearly exterminated when settlers arrived in Africa and India. There are an estimated five thousand black rhinos in the wild this year. The rhino population has shown a remarkable decrease in these years.
In Africa, southern white rhinos, once thought to be extinct, now thrive in protected sanctuaries and are listed as Endangered. But Western black rhinos and northern white rhinos have recently gone extinct in the wild.
For centuries there has been a belief in Asia that rhino horns have medicinal properties that can be used to treat rheumatism, gout, high fever, and even demonic possession. In recent years they have been credited with their ability to cure cancer or serve as aphrodisiacs.
They have no predators in the wild; its threat is human. There are currently five species of rhino, and three of them are at high risk of extinction. They are the largest land animals after elephants.
Rhinos once lived freely in many places in Eurasia and Africa, and they were known to the first Europeans, who represented them in cave paintings.. It is estimated that there were around 500,000 rhinos in Africa and Asia in the early 20th century. In 1970 the population dropped to 70,000, but only 27,000 rhinos remain in the wild today.
Due to constant hunting and habitat loss, very few rhinos survive outside of national parks and reserves today. Two species of rhino in Asia – Javan and Sumatran – are critically endangered. In 2011, a subspecies of the Javanese rhino was declared extinct in Vietnam. However, a small population of Javanese rhino still survives on the Indonesian island of Java.
Successful conservation efforts have helped increase population numbers of Asia’s third species, the Indian rhino. Its status has changed from Threatened to Vulnerable, but the species is still hunted alone for its horn, according to information on the WWF’s website.
WWF is a key NGO in the fight to protect rhinos. With nearly 60 years of experience, WWF secures and protects rhino populations and establishes new populations through relocations; The process of moving rhinos from parks with significant populations to parks that have historically but currently do not.
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