Last year, a rhino was killed every 15 hours.
Let’s zoom out and find out what that actually means. At the start of the 20th century, around 500,000 rhinos roamed around the world.
That number has now dropped to around 28,000 rhinos.
(Source : https://rhinos.org/our-work/the-crisis/)
The main reason behind this drastic drop is – the rhino’s horn. Or to be more accurate, man’s greed for the rhino’s horn. To make things worse, a greed that is rather baseless.
The rhino’s horn is supposed to be the magical cure in markets inside China and Vietnam for all sorts of problems, ranging from hangovers to cancer, with other middling disorders like gout, hallucinations, snake bites etc etc in the middle. Quite the magic pill. And yes, no scientific proof exists.
It is not very surprising why there is no scientific proof. The answer lies in the material the horn is made of.
The interesting …even baffling fact is that the rhino’s horn is primarily made of keratin. And, why is that baffling ? Keratin is the same material that makes up our hair and nails.
Yes, we go and kill these magnificent creatures for what is available at…hands reach.
All the silliness and the poignancy of this craze was even more striking when I was at Solio in Kenya. I was amongst the white rhinos and, I have not seen a collection of more spectacular horns around me.
Bland data says that the average length of the horn of a white rhino is around 35 inches and the longest horn recorded is 59 inches.
Now, if you do some quick visual maths both 35 inches and 59 inches can measure to be fairly spectacular lengths but it still doesn’t paint a complete picture.
Those dry numbers don’t convey the considerable girth at the base where the horn rests. It does not cover the multitude of shapes the horns come in.
There was this rhino, who came and peered shortsightedly at me, who sported an impressively long horn that was ramrod straight.
Then there are those who sport a seductive curve. The horn breaks away from its bulbous base sweeping towards the ground before soaring up as it narrows itself to a pointed end. We live in a world of averages and there are some who sport rather indistinctive horns. Short, shapeless and blunt ones. Dry data also hides the impressive stories that are written on the horns. Chips from regal battles, scars left by might foes...all are etched on the rhino horn.
The rhino is undoubtedly a magnificent beast in itself. The average white rhino can weigh around 3000 kgs and has a shoulder height of around 6 feet. That is one heck of an animal. Add to it the overall rotund shape balanced on short legs ,the tough leathery skin and its lumbering gait, it does look as imposing as an armoured car. ( Even if in reality, it is a terribly skittish animal )
But, take away the horn and the rhino seems robbed of a huge chunk of its magnificence.
Unfortunately, there is no let up in the demand for the rhino horn. I read somewhere that in the last decade, increasing number of articles about the risks that rhinos face, naturally talked about the baseless medicinal value of the horn. That news about the unproven medicinal value led to another spurt in demand !
The white rhino population which had fallen to about 100 of them in the early 1900s had bounced back impressively to around 21,000 in 2012. Around that time, a huge spurt of poaching happened and the numbers again started falling. Once again, efforts redoubled and the numbers started climbing up. It now rests at around 18,000.
This is just a relentless and tiresome battle.
At some point, one wishes that we humans saw some sense. It’s a futile hope, though. One can only keep fighting against our own senselessness.
In the meantime, some images in celebration of the magnificence that is the rhino’s horn.
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