Rhino Horn is Not Medicine: World Rhino Day 2015
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Rhino conservation is something very close to our hearts here at Kariega as we commemorate World Rhino Day. In the first eight months of 2015 at least 749 rhinos have been killed by poachers in South Africa alone. If this rate continues, rhinos will be extinct in the wild by 2020.
World Rhino Day was started by the World Wildlife Fund in South Africa (WWF-South Africa) in 2010. It is now an annual event held on 22 September around the world.
To help protect the rhino at Kariega we regularly remove their horns. This procedure is carried out by a wildlife vet. The animals are darted and their horns are cut off with a chainsaw. This is not at all painful for the rhino but rather similar to cutting our fingernails.
Rhino Horn is Not Medicine
It is clinically proven that rhino horn has no medical value. The horn is made of keratin, the same as human fingernails and hair. Despite this, there are still those who believe it to be a cure for a number of ailments. We encourage you to share this video where wildlife vet and anti-poaching activist Dr. William Fowlds explains that rhino horn is not medicine.
We salute the men and women who are actively involved in rhino protection and conservation. We thank all those supporters who raise awareness and much needed funding for those on the front line.
Brutal Rhino Poaching at Kariega
Kariega Game Reserve was the target of a brutal rhino poaching incident in March 2012. Two rhinos died and one female miraculously survived. Read more about the survival of Thandi and birth of her calf Thembi.
If you would like to get involved in rhino conservation please visit our Save the Rhino page.
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