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Sad News For All
by Marissa Lenting
Heidi on an afternoon game drive. (Photo by Marissa Lenting)
Encounter in the morning mist. (Photo by Marissa Lenting)
We
have some very, very sad news to report. Last night, Thula Thula's
Southern White Rhino, "Heidi", was shot by poachers. Her horn was taken.
The
South African Parks Board and the police are working with Thula Thula,
and one of the poachers is in custody although it appears he was just a
lookout.
It is an enormous loss for Thula Thula and for us all.
Heidi was only 9-years old and was a very popular girl, distinguishing
herself by hanging out with the Wildebeests
and imitating their noises. We were all so looking forward to her
finding a mate, when the next group of rhinos were to be brought to the
reserve, and raising her own calves.
Many
of us came away with such beautiful pictures of her from our trips and
were always in awe of her beautiful and powerful presence.
Unfortunately,
Heidi is not the only to have been poached recently, as the same group
of poachers also shot three other rhino in the area for their horns. Since 2005, rhino poaching has increased in southern Africa by 300%. Since the beginning of this year, 27 rhinos have been poached in Kruger National Park
alone. This increase in poaching can be greatly blamed on the
Vietnamese Rhino Horn Trade stemmed from a senior government official
claiming to be cured of a terminal disease from the use of powdered
rhino horn. Although, rhino horn is made from compacted hair, and has no medicinal qualities.
Southern White Rhinos were near extinction in the beginning of the 20th century, but thanks to conservation efforts, have reached a population near 17,500. We
believe the only message that can be taken from this loss is that we
have to step up our conservation efforts and raise the awareness of all
people on the vital need to conserve our plant and animal kingdoms.
If you would like to make a donation to The Earth Organization in her name,
it would be greatly appreciated by Lawrence and the rest of the staff
and would be used to help forward our educational and conservation
efforts. This certainly underscores and brings home to one the
importance of what we are doing.
We wish her well.
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For photo credits, please click here.
What other's have to say:
You say in your headline it has gone extinct and in the artical say there are stillnearlt 17,000 left. I'd say this is misleading, diminishes the efforts of those who have worked to save this creatur and make me feel I am setting myself up as part of a SPAM harvest. It certainly dimiminished your credibility.
janice ashby
Dear Janice,
Thanks very much for contacting us about this. There is just a bit of confusion here. There are 5 sub-species of Rhinoceros. The one that has gone extinct is the Northern White Rhino. The sub-species in the article about the rhino at Thula Thula that was poached was a Southern White Rhino, and there are nearly 17,500 of them still left. Thanks for letting us clear this up for you. You might find it interesting to note that these two sub-species are not different just because of geography, but they have different weights, heights, horn lengths, and life span. Have a wonderful holiday season!
Best Regards,
Marissa Lenting
The Earth Organization
Marissa Lenting
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