World Wildlife Fund

What are the different species of rhinoceros?
Rhinos have been living on Earth for 60 million years. At one time there were hundreds of rhino species, ranging across Europe and even into North America. Today, scientists recognize five species of rhinoceros - two in Africa, and three in Asia. The African species are the black rhino (Diceros bicornis) and the white rhino (Ceratotherium simum). The Asian species include the Indian rhino, also called the greater one-horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis); the Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus); and the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis).

Are rhinos in danger of extinction?
More than 90 percent of the world's rhinos have disappeared since 1970. Today the total worldwide population of rhinos numbers less than 16,000. Few rhinos are left outside of national parks and other protected areas.

The rhinos in Asia are in the most precarious situation: wild Indian rhinos number just over 2,400 individuals, while the population of Sumatran rhinos is fewer than 300. Most endangered of all the rhinos is the Javan rhino, of which 50 to 60 are estimated to remain in the wild.

In Africa, the black rhino population dropped to around 2,500, a 95 percent decline since 1970. However, in the last few years, black rhino populations have begun to stabilize in some countries in its range, as a result of increased enforcement of existing laws and the creation of new protective measures. Today, black rhino populations throughout Africa have increased to 3,100 individuals. Nevertheless, the northwestern black rhino subspecies remains critically endangered - it's thought that only 8 individuals remain, in the country of Cameroon. The most populous subspecies of black rhino is the southern black rhino, with a population of about 1,650 individuals. Populations of the southwestern and eastern black rhinos are fairly stable, at 940 and 500 individuals, respectively.

About 11,670 white rhinos remain in the wild; however, almost all of these are southern white rhinos living in South Africa, which is the only country where rhino numbers have grown substantially over the last two decades. Southern white rhinos are also found in Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. They have also been translocated outside their historic range to the Kenya. The northern subspecies of white rhino lives only in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), where only around 30 individuals exist.

What has caused this drastic decline?
In 1989, you could walk into a traditional medicine shop in China and find rhino horn offered for as much as $7,400 per kilogram. Rhino horns are valuable ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM. Contrary to popular belief, rhino horn derivatives are not used as aphrodisiacs. Considered a powerful heat-reducing medicine, rhino horn is used to treat fever, delirium, high blood pressure, and other ailments. Asian rhino horn is generally considered more valuable than African rhino horn and sells for a higher price on the wholesale market. Today, the use of rhino horn in TCM is banned throughout most of Asia, but before laws protecting rhinos were put into place, hundreds of rhinos were killed each year to supply the vast TCM market. More than 100,000 items of rhino products were recorded in trade worldwide between 1990 and 1992. In 1993, TRAFFIC estimated that use of rhino horn in South Korea alone accounted for the death of 100 rhinos each year.

In the Middle East country of Yemen, rhino horns are carved into ceremonial dagger handles known as jambiyas. Before rhinos were protected from international trade, Yemen was the world's largest consumer of rhino horn, importing more than 6,000 pounds (2700 kilograms) every year - about 40 percent of the total rhino horn in trade at that time. In 1982 the government of Yemen banned the import of rhino horn, but even in the mid-1990s as much as 150 pounds (330 kilograms) of horn were being smuggled into the country each year. At that time the price of a single pound of rhino horn could sell for as much as US$27,000. An average black rhino has about 5.5 pounds (2.5 kilograms) of horn, while an average Javan rhino has about 1.5 pounds (.7 kilograms) of horn.

Habitat degradation is also a significant threat to the forest-dependent Javan and Sumatran rhinos, whose tropical forest habitats are threatened by unsustainable timber exploitation and agricultural expansion. Relatively large numbers of Indian rhinos have succumbed to freak flooding in recent years.

What are the U.S. and international laws protecting rhinos?
With the exception of the South African population of southern white rhino, all rhino species and subspecies are listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty that includes over 160 member countries. This treaty prohibits international commercial trade in all rhino products and derivatives. The South African population of southern white rhino was transferred to Appendix II of CITES in 1994. This allows for limited commercial trade in live animals "to appropriate and acceptable destinations," usually zoos and wildlife preserves, and hunting trophies.

In the United States, the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) lists all but the southern white rhino as "Endangered" and prohibits import and interstate commerce in rhinos and rhino products. In addition, the Rhino and Tiger Conservation Act of 1998 establishes a conservation fund for rhinos, which is used for conservation efforts in countries where these species are found. The act also contains a provision prohibiting the import, export, and sale of any products that claim to contain rhino parts. This provision, adopted as an amendment to the Rhino and Tiger Conservation Act, allows Customs and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials to seize such products without having to prove that a product labeled to contain "rhino horn" or "tiger bone" actually contains the substance.

If rhinos are protected, why are they still being killed?
Rhino horns bring high prices in the East Asian and Middle Eastern markets, and profits made from the sale of rhino horn are so great that poachers, smugglers, and shop owners will risk fines, jail sentences, and even death to sell rhino horns. Fortunately, the trade in rhino horn has slowed significantly in the past several decades. During the 1970s, an estimated 17,600 pounds (8,000 kilos) of rhino horn were traded annually worldwide. In the 1980s, the rhino trade dropped by more than half, totaling an estimated 6,600 pounds (3,000 kilos) per year. Today, enforcement activities and emergency measures, such as dehorning, have helped deter illegal hunting in some areas, but poachers continue to pose the greatest threat to the rhinos' survival. Trade bans that are in place around the world are often poorly enforced in many countries due to lack of capacity and awareness.

How has the illegal trade affected rhino populations?
In Africa, surveys indicate that since 1980 most of the black rhino population has disappeared from its former range. Since that year, black rhinos have been completely wiped out of Chad, Ethiopia, Angola, Mozambique, Somalia, and Sudan, and nearly wiped out of Rwanda, Botswana, Malawi, Swaziland, and Zambia. Populations in Zimbabwe have also been severely threatened by poaching, and whilst still the third largest range state, the current, declining economic situation is creating a significant increase in the risk of rhino poaching. The rhino populations of Namibia and South Africa are currently considered relatively safe due to effective protection and management.

Rhino populations on both continents continue to be threatened by illegal international trade in rhino horn. At least 15 Asian rhinos were killed in the Chitwan Valley of Nepal during the five months between November 2001 and March 2002, compared to 34 in the 36-month period between July 1998 and August 2001. Further, two Sumatran rhinos were found killed in Borneo and Sumatra during April 2001 despite few reported deaths since 1995. According to research conducted by TRAFFIC, East Africa is increasingly acting as a source and entrep't for rhino horn leaving Africa. Since 1998, several rhino populations in Kenya have started to lose rhinos to poachers, representing a resurgence in rhino poaching after eight years. Seizures in Kenya increased from none in 1998 to 21 horns seized in 2000, far exceeding any other African country. In September 2002, a further two horns were seized in Dar es Salaam, the first seizure of its kind in Tanzania since 1996. There is no room for complacency given the continued occurrence of illegal trade routes implicating numerous countries and the inadequate protection of many rhino populations.

What can be done to stop this trade?
Stopping rhino trade will require multiple actions on all fronts and new, creative initiatives. The principal consumer nations - China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Yemen - must greatly strengthen enforcement efforts and crack down on the illegal trade. Publicity on the plight of rhinos should continue to be directed toward consumer nations, and practitioners of traditional oriental medicines and makers of jambiyas should be encouraged to continue exploring alternative or substitute materials which are available, such as water buffalo horn and synthetic materials.

CITES parties should recruit all non-members to ratify the treaty, and urge establishment of new rhino horn trade restrictions and trade control regimes where needed. African and Asian range states need increased anti-poaching forces and more effective habitat protection through not only national parks and sanctuaries, but improved biological management, active participation of communities and the private sector, and strong regional cooperation to assist with the establishment of effective anti-poaching efforts and conservation strategies. All nations holding stockpiles of rhino horn should also ensure that they are registered and securely stored.