Sunday, November 20, 2011

Two rhinos declared extinct

Bad news for rhinos

The IUCN has declared that two subspecies of rhino are leaving the planet - and not from natural causes.  Tthe the northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) of Central Africa is  "possibly extinct in the wild" while a subspecies of the western black rhino (Diceros bicornis longipes) in Western Africa is extinct, period.
COMMENT: This is not only sad for the rhinos, but scary for conservation in general. If we can't protect small populations of conspicuous, easily tracked animals, will we even know if more elusive animals become extinct? And the Javan rhino, a full species, has lost its Asian mainland population and is hanging on by its toenails.  We need to work harder!

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