Taking the relatively simple step to cut the horns of wild rhinos is sufficient to considerably reduce the speed at which animals are killed by poachers.
Through 11 nature reserves in South Africa, scientists have found that black dehorning (Diceros bicornis) and white rhinos (Ceratoralium SIMUM) Populations have experienced a sudden and clear reduction in poaching on an average of 78%. It was, by far, the most effective method to reduce the illegal massacre of these endangered animals, revealed researchers.
“The rhino dehorter to reduce poaching incentives – with 2,284 rhinos Déhorties in eight reserves – proved to be a 78% reduction in poaching, using only 1.2% of the overall rhino protection budget”, ” said the conservation biologist Tim Kuiper of Nelson Mandela University in South Africa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rh124efuti Frameborder = “0 ″ allow =” accelerometer; Autoplay; Clipborat-writing; encrypted media; gyroscope; image in an image; Web-share “RefraierPolicy =” Strict-Original-Ohen-Cross-Origin “Allowerlscreen>The trade in the horn of Rhinoceros represents one of the most poignant examples of the destructive influence of human activity.
The horns of these animals are made from keratin, like our own nails and our hair; However, perception persists among many cultures that they have medicinal value despite Complete lack of scientific evidence. The demand is so high that most species of rhino on earth are now on the verge of extinction due to poaching.
Many different strategies to reduce poaching have been proposed, from 3D printing rhino horns At The death penalty for offenders.
Kuiper and his colleagues conducted their study to determine the effectiveness of the measures in place in 11 natural reserves in the Grand Kruger region – a landscape of around 2.4 million hectares in which around 25% of all African rhinos are currently resident.
The researchers documented the poaching death of 1,985 rhinos between 2017 and 2023. This represents around 6.5% of the rhino population in the region.
Most investments in anti -racication measures focus on reactive strategies – an increased presence of storage, cameras and follow -up dogs. Within the delay that the researchers studied, these measures led to arrests of around 700 poachers – but they did not significantly reduce the rate to which the rhinos have been killed, at least in part because of corruption of the policesay the researchers.
However, when unlocking measures have been adopted, poaching rates have dropped.
The delight does not harm the rhinoceros; It’s a bit like having cut nails or cutting the hair. Horn growth plates are left intact, so keratin gradually pushes over time. The withdrawal of the horn removes the incentive to kill the rhinoceros, because the horn is what the poachers want.
When the rhinos have been reached, but not only has poaching rate decreased; The same goes for the pace to which the poachers entered the area.
However, harm was not a direct prevention measure. Because the horn pushes back, 111 rhinos with horn stumps have always been killed by poachers. Although the poaching rate of the Rhinos Déhorties is lower, even a horn stump was a sufficient incentive at least part of the time for poaching unions.
And while poaching rates were down in the regions where the dehorning was active, the poachers often moved to other regions To try their luck elsewhere, the evidence suggests.
“Maybe it’s best,” Kuiper wrote on the conversation“Consider the dehorter as a very effective but short-term solution which gives us time to resolve the ultimate engines of poaching: demand for horn, socio-economic inequality, corruption and organized criminal networks.”
Poaching of rhinos is such a complex problem that no solution is likely to solve it. The removal of incentive in the first step, however, seems to be an important element of the wider solution.
“It is important to verify that our conservation interventions work as expected and continue to work in this way”, ” said the ecologist Res Altwegg of the CAP University.
“For me, this project has once again highlighted the value of detailed data collection, both on applied interventions and the result. It is these data that makes it possible for robust quantitative analyzes.”
Researchers devote their work to The late Sharon Haussmann From the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation, which contributed to this effort of collaborative research.
The results were published in Scientific advances.
