ambience: African wildlife The rhinoceros, with its huge, bare-skinned body and unicorn-like horn, very much looks the part of a prehistoric beast. Rhinos weren’t around when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, but they are ancient creatures – and they’re facing extinction in our lifetime. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by DuPont. “If you go back millions of years ago, there used to be a huge number of different types of rhino and the five that we’re left with today are really the last survivors of what appears to be almost a prehistoric looking animal.” Zoologist Zoe Jewell studies rhinoceros in southern Africa. All of the five surviving species of rhinos are now endangered, including the black rhinoceros. Tens of thousands of black rhinos were alive just a quarter century ago, but today only a few thousand remain. According to zoologist Sky Alibhai, they’ve been killed off by poachers for their horns. “Rhino horn is used, particularly in the Far East, for medicinal purposes. Now in the West, it’s always been assumed that the main purpose of rhino horn is as an aphrodisiac, but in fact this is really a myth. Rhino horn in the Far East is used for a whole host of medicinal reasons, but mainly as a fever reducing agent. Rhino horn on the retail market, is worth more, ounce for ounce, than gold itself. So the incentives to kill these animals are huge, and as a result of that, we’ve brought this magnificent species almost to the brink of extinction.” As founders of Rhinowatch, Sky Alibhai and Zoe Jewell have helped monitor and protect the black rhino population in Zimbabwe since 1992. Please visit our website at nationalgeographic.com. Pulse of the Planet is presented by DuPont, bringing you the miracles of science, with additional support provided by the National Science Foundation . I’m Jim Metzner.
Black Rhinoceros: Poaching
The rhinoceros, an ancient creature, is facing extinction in our lifetime. And it's people who are their greatest enemies.
Air Date:11/28/2000
Scientist:
Transcript:
ambience: African wildlife The rhinoceros, with its huge, bare-skinned body and unicorn-like horn, very much looks the part of a prehistoric beast. Rhinos weren't around when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, but they are ancient creatures - and they're facing extinction in our lifetime. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by DuPont. "If you go back millions of years ago, there used to be a huge number of different types of rhino and the five that we're left with today are really the last survivors of what appears to be almost a prehistoric looking animal." Zoologist Zoe Jewell studies rhinoceros in southern Africa. All of the five surviving species of rhinos are now endangered, including the black rhinoceros. Tens of thousands of black rhinos were alive just a quarter century ago, but today only a few thousand remain. According to zoologist Sky Alibhai, they've been killed off by poachers for their horns. "Rhino horn is used, particularly in the Far East, for medicinal purposes. Now in the West, it's always been assumed that the main purpose of rhino horn is as an aphrodisiac, but in fact this is really a myth. Rhino horn in the Far East is used for a whole host of medicinal reasons, but mainly as a fever reducing agent. Rhino horn on the retail market, is worth more, ounce for ounce, than gold itself. So the incentives to kill these animals are huge, and as a result of that, we've brought this magnificent species almost to the brink of extinction." As founders of Rhinowatch, Sky Alibhai and Zoe Jewell have helped monitor and protect the black rhino population in Zimbabwe since 1992. Please visit our website at nationalgeographic.com. Pulse of the Planet is presented by DuPont, bringing you the miracles of science, with additional support provided by the National Science Foundation . I'm Jim Metzner.