African Black Rhino Declared Extinct

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   kerrygposted 12 years ago

   The Western Black Rhino of Africa was declared officially extinct Thursday by a leading conservation group.
   
   The International Union for Conservation of Nature said that two other subspecies of rhinoceros were close to meeting the same fate.
   
   The Northern White Rhino of central Africa is now "possibly extinct" in the wild and the Javan Rhino "probably extinct" in Vietnam, after poachers killed the last animal there in 2010.
   
   A small but declining population survives on the Indonesian island of Java.
   
   Source
   
   Such terrible, wanton destruction. And all for what? Folk remedies that don't even work.

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      ngurecoposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      There are four subspecies of the black rhinoceros in Africa, namely
      
      1. South-central subspecies
      2. South-western subspecies
      3. East African subspecies
      4. West African subspecies (now extinct)
      
      It seems like South Africa and East Africa are running successful conservation measures in improving breeding performance of the black rhinos as their numbers there seems to be increasing.

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   Cagsilposted 12 years ago

   It's bound to happen to some animals.

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   icountthetimesposted 12 years ago

   It's something that has always happened, though I do worry about us having a hand in other species extinction. It's not something I take any satisfaction them.

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      lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      That's sad to hear crazy ppl do this and of course we're  part of it

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         icountthetimesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, it makes you wonder what can do done about it. If the number of endanagered specieis is anything to do by, possibly very little. But we must try.

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   c1234rystalposted 12 years ago

   I thought that the Javan Rhino went extinct this year. What do you think are the best options for saving other endangered species? Obviously each situation is different, but I keep wondering what steps conservationists should take next. It's definitely an uphill battle...

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   Phoebe Pikeposted 12 years ago

   This may sound harsh, but it's nature. If they cannot adapt or reproduce fast enough, people feel obligated to try to save them. There are at least 25 species dying out every single day. I'm sorry, but that's just the way of it. Animals are just a blip on the globe... here today gone tomorrow. Who knows how long humans will last? No one knows for sure.

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      kerrygposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I hate to break Godwin's Law, but that's like saying the Allies should have stopped trying to liberate the death camps and just told the Jews to learn how to breathe carbon monoxide. Rhinos are not going extinct from natural causes, they're going extinct because they're being slaughtered en masse by poachers for their horns. Why on earth shouldn't we as a species take responsibility for our actions and try to save them?

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         habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I agree. This is not natural selection at work. What a pity to lose these magnificent creatures.

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            Phoebe Pikeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            It's not anything like the holocaust for starters... also, people have been trying to save them for a while, somewhere you can bet there are a few that were captured and they are trying to breed more.

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         JKennyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I absolutely agree, we've been slaughtering large animals or Megafauna for thousands of years, its about time that we woke up and took some responsibility for our actions, otherwise we'll end up with a world of people living alongside rats, cockroaches and snakes.

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   WendyAnthroposted 12 years ago

   Some megafauna died out because they couldn't find enough food and water to support an animal of their size relative to the amount of energy they required daily, especially during glacial events when food was either too scarce or the animals were pushed into newer areas with climates differing too greatly from where they evolved. However, some of them died out because our ancestors hunted them into extinction. This is not nature or natural. Before humans had the atlatl, or spearthrower, they drove massive herds of megafauna over cliffs to obtain meat. They then went to the bottom of the cliff and harvested as much meat as they could, leaving the remains for scavengers. I'm sure this seemed like a good idea at the time, and it definitely yielded a high amount of high-energy food when the group co-operated. What they didn't know was that there wasn't an unending supply of these animals and that we were killing them faster than they could reproduce.
   I could totally be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the rhinos are or will be extinct because of poaching and human encroachment, as is the case with many other species of animals that once roamed this earth. Yes, surely there are some species who went extinct for reasons completely based on natural selection such as: specialized feeders (like Koalas, who can only eat Eucalyptus) may overbreed and exhaust their sole food source without being able to adapt to a new one, rapid climate change in which the species cannot evolve quickly enough to compensate, or an influx of natural predators or new predator behavior that the prey species is unfamiliar with. Humans poaching animals for their parts is not natural selection at all. In fact, there is nothing "natural" at all about slaughtering an animal, ripping off its horn, and selling it for a profit or killing animals which we perceive as dangerous and in our territory when we are the one who encroach on their space. I apologize if I've stepped on anybody's toes here, this is my opinion as an Anthropologist.

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   psycheskinnerposted 12 years ago

   It is "bound to happen" when we as humans directly cause it to happen by killing every single member of a species for our personal profit.  This was not an act of God, or environmental change or anything like that.  People did this.

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   ftclickposted 12 years ago

   It's not a natural act?  People are natural (and from God "all kinds of debate on this one by the believers and atheists). The migration of people is environmental. The need for food is natural and that is why these poachers want it - to pay for food, not necessarily luxuries (I hope).
   Whether it is a pack of lions, crocs, or human residents, there is some naturality to it.
   
   That being said, and being an animal lover, I do think a conservation program should be made, laws made very harsh (jail for 10 yrs or work in the fields for 10 yrs FREE). No foreigners, non-Africans allowed, with guns or traps where there are endangered species.
   I am sure you recall developed countries having their tourists try to smuggle in endangered species. The laws are just not strict enough or there are corrupt overseers. It is just sad.

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