PROTECTING AND PRESERVING NATURAL RESOURCESAND ANIMAL SPECIES

 

                                                                                Rhino Black Rhino (Diceros Bicornis), Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya.

ADOPT A RHINO

Give a gift that will help protect the future of nature. Make a symbolic adoption in support of WWF's global efforts.

SPECIES RHINO Top FACTS POPULATION Around 27,000 Length 4-10 ft. HABITATS

Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannahs and shrublands, tropical moist forests, deserts and shrublands

Diceros bicornis Black rhinoceros Desert species adapted to extremely arid habitat Kaokoland, Namibia.

Learn more about the five different species of rhino.

Rhinos once roamed many places throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa and were known to early Europeans who depicted them in cave paintings. At the beginning of the 20th century, 500,000 rhinos roamed Africa and Asia. By 1970, rhino numbers dropped to 70,000, and today, around 27,000 rhinos remain in the wild. Very few rhinos survive outside national parks and reserves due to persistent poaching and habitat loss over many decades. Three species of rhino—black, Javan, and Sumatran—are critically endangered. Today, a small population of Javan rhinos is found in only one national park on the northern tip of the Indonesian island of Java. A mainland subspecies of the Javan rhino was declared extinct in Vietnam in 2011. Successful conservation efforts have led to an increase in the number of greater one-horned (or Indian) rhinos, from around 200 at the turn of the 20th century to around 3,700 today. The greater one-horned rhino is one of Asia’s biggest success stories, with their status improving from endangered to vulnerable following significant population increases. 

Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habitat destruction/degradation/fragmentation, overexploitation, poaching, pollution and climate change. The IUCN estimates that 27,000 species of the ones assessed are at risk for extinction. Expanding to all existing species, a 2019 UN report on biodiversity put this estimate even higher at a million species. It's also being acknowledged that an increasing number of ecosystems on Earth containing endangered species are disappearing. To address these issues, there have been both national and international governmental efforts to preserve Earth's wildlife. 

Plants and animals have life events that seemingly occur like clockwork every year. Birds can migrate, mammals may hibernate, flowers bloom, and leaves change colors. The study of how the biological world times these natural events is called phenology. Scientists now understand that plants and animals take their cues from their local climate (long-term weather patterns). Climate is impacted by non-biological factors—temperature, precipitation, and available sunlight. Species use the predictable yearly changes in the climate to determine when they start natural events such as breeding or flowering.

Climate change is slowly increasing average annual temperatures. One of the most noticeable ways that climate change is impacting wildlife is by disrupting the timing of natural events. With warmer temperatures, flowering plants are blooming earlier in the year and migratory birds are returning from their wintering grounds earlier in the spring. Phenology is an important subject for conservationists to study because it helps us understand the patterns of specific species and overall ecosystem health. Every species has an impact on those in its food chain and community, and the timing of one species' phenological events can be very important to the survival of another species.

TRAFFIC's analysis of conservation problems and solutions is objective, multidisciplinary and knowledge-driven and is carried out in conjunction with specialists in a wide variety of disciplines, including species conservation, ecology, economics and law. Recommendations resulting from this work are based on direct experience of developing and assisting with the implementation of practical solutions to wildlife trade problems. Further, TRAFFIC supports the development of policies and action to address conservation challenges it has identified, exploring innovative solutions and strategies and learning from analyses of the effectiveness of previous approaches. TRAFFIC India As part of its mandate, TRAFFIC India is actively engaged on wildlife trade related issues across the country and the South Asian region. It is taking up a number of activities providing policy inputs, supporting and strengthening field level enforcement and enhancing capacity across various levels and institutions to address wildlife trade related issues.