PredatorBiologist

All the rhinos in Hwange are being dehorned to protect them from poachers. Sounds like the process will be carried out in other Zimbabwe parks as well.

http://allafrica.com/stories/printab...709120042.html

afrigalah

Wonder how successful that will be, Bill?

It didn't work for Chizarira NP's black rhinos in the mid-late 90s. The reason was that the poachers still killed the hornless rhinos so that they wouldn't waste time tracking them in future. The surviving rhinos had to be transferred to Hwange where they could be better protected. I guess the big difference now is with poaching rampant, tracking isn't as much of a burden for poachers in Hwange as it was in Chiz, so dehorning might be a deterrent.

John

afrigalah

We might hear something from nyama about this, as he's walking in Chiz and Hwange in the next few days and rhino tracking is one of the objectives of the safari he is on.

John

PredatorBiologist

John: I think that is why they will need to dehorn every single one of them and then hope the word spreads so the poachers know there is no huge financial incentive to pursue rhino. With the desperation going on I'm not sure if it will save them or not but I guess its at least a large deterrent.

I'd also like to know what they are doing with the horns following this harvest, great to keep the rhinos alive but I wouldn't be surprised at all if the government was selling them to Yemen for knife handles or areas of the far east where they can get big money --of course that would all be done underground but sounds like it would be right up the Mugabe regime alley. That is of course nothing but unfounded speculation on my part.

afrigalah

There are probably so few left that dehorning all will pose little or no problem. As to your question about the fate of the horns, our fellow Fodorite may bring back some insight on this.

John

mkhonzo

Actually, that country is so far in the drink that the remaining rhinos are going to shot for food. why waste the money dehorning them?

HariS

Awful!

pixelpower

Related; has anyone seen last nights program about the ivory trade. Was on AnimalPlanet...

GeoffG

Bill & John,

When they used dehorning in Chizaria to deter poaching the poachers shot the dehorned ones anyway so they would not waste time tracking them down.

That's why the authorities decided to move the remaining rhino from Chiz to Hwange.

I agree with mkhonzo... they will now be shooting the rhinos for food.

Geoff.

afrigalah

Geoff,

Yes, mkhonzo's suggestion makes sense. As we've both stated, the Chizarira de-horning didn't work. So weight is added to Bill's suspicion about where the horns will end up. Looks like the revival of dehorning is just a big government con job.

John
John

nyama

It's not just dehorning. They also put a transmitter device into the remaining horn, and that already worked quite well. The horn of a poached rhino was tracked down to Hwange Town and found in a flower pot - must have been a magical moment for the poacher when Parks found the horn, and a warning to all others.

Dehorned rhinos are also marked at the hooves - a clear sign for poachers that it's not worth following the spoor.

"Actually, that country is so far in the drink that the remaining rhinos are going to shot for food. why waste the money dehorning them?"

Come on, mkhonzo - usually you're not such negative.

afrigalah

Nyama, it's good that more thought has gone into the process this time. I love the story about the transmitter leading Parks to the horn. Too late for that particular rhino, and you've got to hope that word spreads quickly because there aren't that many left.

John