Recently, the fifth royal in the line of succession to the British throne, Henry Charles Albert David, also known as Prince Harry, visited the Kruger National Park in the Republic of South Africa (RSA).
His primary aim was to see the beauty of nature, and see some of the exceptional animals that live in the park such as elephants, rhinos and lions. The Kruger National Park is located in northeastern RSA. It is one of the largest game reserves in Africa.
The reserve’s high density of wild animals includes the Big 5: lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and buffaloes. Hundreds of other mammals have also made the reserve their home. Bird species such as vultures, eagles and storks are also found in the reserve. Mountains, bush plains and tropical forests make up the landscape of the reserve.
However, after taking just a few minutes to walk through the park, Prince Harry soon became disappointed. What he saw, quickly became emotional for him. The prince was heartbroken because he saw the carcasses of endangered animals.
Poachers had killed them with impunity. The poachers are interested in the horns of the rhinos and tusks of elephants, because they can be sold in China and the United States for a substantial profit. In China and other Asian countries, rhino horns are used in traditional medicine. This has increased the demand for them, and poachers in Africa have taken advantage of inadequate security measures at national parks.
In September this year, the US and China signed an agreement to take steps to curb this illegal trade. The New York Times recently reported that levels of local support for anti-poaching efforts in the US, have been increasing since the agreement was signed. It also found that even some former poachers are turning against the trade. According to the reports, the former poachers now see that the trade is contributing to the destruction of their own communities.
“This belongs to South Africa and it’s been stolen by other people. And the body’s left here, wasted,” Prince Harry said upon seeing the body of a rhino that had its horn cut away by poachers.
After the visit, Harry documented all that he had seen in the park on his Instagram page, appealing to his followers to help stop poaching. Among the heart-rending photos, is one that depicts Prince Harry hugging an elephant that had been sedated for examination. In another photo, Prince Harry can be seen working with park authorities to de-horn a rhino. De-horning is one of the short-term methods of deterring potential poachers. De-horning has to be done every two years for it to be effective, and can only realistically be done with small populations in open bush.
“After a very long day in Kruger National Park, with five rhinos sent to new homes and three elephants freed from their collars – like this sedated female – I decided to take a moment.
I know how lucky I am to have these experiences, but hearing stories from people on the ground about how bad the situation really is, upset and frustrated me. How can it be that 30,000 elephants were slaughtered last year alone? None of them had names, so do we not care? And for what? Their tusks? Seeing huge carcasses of rhinos and elephants scattered across Africa, with their horns and tusks missing is a pointless waste of beauty,” Prince Harry sadly wrote on Instagram.
Poaching is not a joke. It is a growing problem. According to the Upworthy, the activity has already devastated the rhino population, which currently sits at around 29,000, down from about 500,000 in the early 1900s. In November 2015, a white rhino at the San Diego Zoo in the US was euthanized after a series of illnesses—just three individual white rhinos remain on Earth.
In addition to exterminating the animals, poaching often disrupts tourism for countries that depend on it. When the population of the animals reduces, tourists become reluctant to visit because they are less likely to see the animals they want to see. As tourism declines, poverty rises in local communities where game reserves are located. As a result, staff working in the parks will be laid-off, leading to even more poaching.
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To clarify, the NORTHERN white rhino is the species that is down to 3. The southern white rhino, whilst not as severe, is most certainly on a path towards extinction as well. We know that well-organised crime syndicates are behind the majority of poaching incidents, and their equipment is increasingly sophisticated. We also know that the rhino horns poached in Southern Africa are usually out of Africa within 48 hours and headed towards Southeast Asia. The LRA is well known for their involvement, but Chinese crime syndicates are also involved too. If anyone in Anonymous is willing to expose the syndicates and their whereabouts to the appropriate parties (INTERPOL?), maybe these rhinos might make it. Also, corruption within South Africa has left these rhinos like sitting ducks. They impose very little penalties. So it’s a low risk, big gain for the poachers. Pointing out SA’s political figures who have taken little action or contrary actions towards rhino’s protection would be very appreciated. I don’t really know where to begin, but I care a lot about the species. Please do what you can.