ANCESTORS OF MODERN RHINOS WALKED WITH DINOSAURS. WILL THE 21ST CENTURY BE THE SPECIES' LAST STAND?

[Guest guest]

Link: http://www.davidshepherd.org/spe/spe.shtml

 

 

ANCESTORS OF MODERN RHINOS WALKED WITH DINOSAURS. WILL THE 21ST CENTURY BE

THE SPECIES' LAST STAND?

 

[image: Indian rhino]One entire episode of Saving Planet Earth, a

conservation series and charity appeal shown on BBC TV in the summer of

2007, focuses on the plight of the greater Indian one-horned rhino. This

species is under serious threat of extinction by the incessant demand for

rhino horn in traditional Asian medicines. This episode highlights how the

illegal trade in wildlife body parts has an estimated value of £5 billion

per annum, second only to the illegal trade in drugs. It shows the efforts

made by conservationists to protect this charismatic, endangered species in

one of its last strongholds in Assam, India, the courage of the forest

officers in combating poachers and the difficulties of preserving a unique

habitat for rhinos and other wildlife in the face of increasing human

pressure.

 

When Phil Tufnell was asked by the BBC to make a film on the rhino he said:-

 

" It was like being bowled a bit of a googly. I always thought of rhinos as

a bit boring and quite ugly! But when you have seen them up close and

studied them for a while, they are both cute and fascinating. Seeing them in

their own habitat was amazing – it is where they belong and we should do

everything we can to protect them " .

 

[image: Indian rhino]Saving the Indian one-horned rhino has been the corner

stone of the conservation movement in Assam since the beginning of the last

century. Those early ground-breaking steps in conservation were focused

almost entirely on the Indian rhino. The success story resulting from one

hundred years of intensive efforts in rhino conservation is characterised by

Kaziranga National Park where the rhino population reached 1855 in 2006

rising from a low point of just 20 animals in 1905. In Assamese society, the

words rhino and conservation are now synonymous. If rhinos become extinct in

Assam, the future of other wildlife species becomes very dark indeed as they

chiefly merit attention only in key rhino-bearing wildlife areas. The rhino

is no less than the symbol of conservation in Assam. It has become the

flag-bearer for the conservation of other species. The victory of

conservation in Assam is the preservation of endangered habitats for rhinos

in the face of massive human pressure and these, in turn, benefit a whole

range of other highly endangered species including wild Asian elephants and

tigers.

 

SPE is grateful for the support of DSWF's Kaziranga Project (to read more click

here

....<http://www.davidshepherd.org/projects_india_assam_kaziranga/kaziranga.shtml>\

)

and local partner, Aaranyak, in Assam. To find out more about their work

visit their website at:-

www.aaranyak.org/Programmes/RRCP.htm

 

DSWF and Aaranyak work closely with the Assam Forest Department whose

assistance has been vital for the implementation of this crucial

conservation project.