Staff Writer
Northern White rhino Angalifu died due to old age at
the San Diego Zoo leaving only five in the world. Conservationists were hoping
to mate Angalifu with Nola, another Northern White rhino. Their attempts were
unsuccessful, leaving little hope for the continuation of the Northern White
rhino population. Three of the remaining rhinos are located in a preserve in
Kenya and while one other is kept at a zoo in the Czech Republic.
Both Northern and Southern White rhinos are in
demand exclusively for their horns, which sell for tens of thousands of
dollars. The horns are in such demand that organized poaching is so extreme to
the point where helicopters, night-vision equipment and silenced guns are used.
In Asia, the rhino horn is believed to have healing powers in traditional Asian
remedies. The high demand and profit has driven the poachers to continue the
killings of the rhinos, shrinking the population down to near extinction.
The Southern White rhino was declared extinct in the
nineteenth century until a population was discovered in southern Africa.
Conservationists gradually brought the animals back to a substantial number.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) states that there are more than twenty thousand
alive today. However the increase in demand of their horns still has the
Southern White rhino in danger.
There may be hope for the Northern White rhino
population though the outlook is not in their favor. Semen and testicular tissue from Angalifu are
now being tested at the San Diego Zoo Institute for possible reproductive use
with the remaining Northern White female rhinos.
