To those of you who are not aware, there is a massive problem going on. and this problem is Rhino Poaching.

Please be aware, there is one image that might be upsetting to sensitive viewers. I wont show any more than just one.

Lets start from the beginning.

Why are they being poached?

Firstly, Rhino horn has been used in traditional chinese medicines since the 1800's, but by 1990s demand was still limited, around 15 rhinos were poached each year in South Africa.

Then things started to change in 2008

The amount of Rhinos poached per year sky rocketed to 83! Then 122 The following year. By 2012 688 had been poached in one year. Six Hundred and eighty eight beautiful majestic creatures killed in one year!

Below is a graph of how many rhinos are poached each day according to years

What happened in 2008 that made this happen ?

Well my best guess, and the sources i have gathered seem to think it was a rumor in Vietnam that happened in the mid 2000's that consuming rhino horn had cured a Vietnamese politicians cancer(https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/nov/25/cure-cancer-rhino-horn-vietnam)

This rumor persists to this day. There is a lot of rumours these days about chinese traditional medicine using it but

Huijun Shen, the president of the UK Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine explained to Nature magazine, there's no record of using rhino horn to treat cancer in nearly two millennia worth of Chinese medical texts
This can be found on page 23 https://issuu.com/argos/docs/the-asian-medicine?pageNumber=search&e=1134950/2691680

Not everyone agrees with the cancer theory though

A lot of conservationists believe that it is used for healing the liver, and now used as more of a party drug! http://www.pri.org/stories/2012-08-27/forget-cocaine-rhino-horn-new-drug-status

Rhino Horn is made up of the same stuff our nails are!

Yup you read right, Rhino horns are made out of keratin, the exact same stuff as our hair and nails. So in actual fact people are paying $60,000 per kilogram for something they grow on their own body.

Enough backround info

Why do we need to stop it straight away

As seen above, its getting out of control. There are only 18900 White and 2040 Black Rhinos left in South Africa and South Africa is home to 74% of all Rhinos.2015 was the first year there was a decline in rhinos killed which shows the efforts to stop this monstrosity is working. The decline is great news but the numbers are still way to high!

If we keep going the way we are, Rhinos will soon be extinct!

So why do we need to save these gentle giants ?

Rhinos are an umbrella species

which means other species interact with these beautiful creature, and if the rhinos are protected so are these other creatures.

Rhinos Attract Visitors and Tourists.

Rhinos are part of the big 5 (Lion, Rhino, Elephant, buffalo and leopard), These have the 5 highest tourist interest and therefor got the name of the Big 5.
Tourism contributes to a large capital income to South Africa, and the extinction of Rhinos will have a massive outcome to South Africa.

Imagine explaining to your children about these gentle giants that no longer exist

A lot of people don't know that this is happening, people live sheltered lives and don't see anything else except what the main media shows them.

The best way to stop this is to educate!

So please, spread the word as I have. These beautiful animals are dying because of their horns, which are essentially made up of the same stuff as our nails.

Follow me @warrensteem
Sources :
http://www.stoprhinopoaching.com/pages.aspx?pagename=stats
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/05/why-does-a-rhino-horn-cost-300-000-because-vietnam-thinks-it-cures-cancer-and-hangovers/275881/
https://www.savetherhino.org/get_involved/donate/ten_good_reasons_to_save_rhinos