Western Black Rhino declared Extinct

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/11/142245106/western-black-rhino-declared-extinct

November 11, 2011

This article talks about the Western Black Rhino becoming extinct. Apparently since 2000 there were only 10 of these animals in Cameroon and they were the last ones of the specie living outside of zoos. They were hunted for their horns, which are used as trophies and in traditional medicine. This loss is grave, because the Western Black Rhino is genetically distinct from other rhinos and introducing an animal that was born captive to the natural world is almost impossible. There are experts trying to save other Black rhino subspecies in Eastern and Southern Africa, which have been slightly more successful, but the rhinos are still hunted for their horns. There is research stating that other rhino populations such as the Northern White Rhino are also at risk of extinction. Experts are trying to work along zoos in order to preserve these animals in natural reserves so they reproduce and can carry on the genes.

This article interested me, because I thought that it was really shocking to just see a specie disappear all of the sudden. I was looking for my science article and this one popped up, and I thought that it was really amazing how an animal can just disappear because man kind is selfish and all they want is the money and the glory no matter what. Hunters should know what they are doing, and I think that this was the thing that shocked me the most, the specie didn’t disappear because the animals were old and started dying without reproducing, but it died just because it was killed by somebody to have the horn to display in his/her living room or to give it to somebody as a present.

I think that this relates to my life, because I am against animal cruelty, and most people don’t know that rhinos are half blind, meaning that their only was of surviving is their horn because they go around and hit anything that comes in their way, because they are not sure what is coming for them. it has been thought that maybe hunters could just shoot tranquilizers to the rhinos and cut to horn off and the animal could live happily ever after, but after hearing that they are half blind and their only way of surviving is their horn I think that this would just be cruel because they wouldn’t have any way of surviving either way.

I can relate this article to the MYP Area of Interaction of Environment, because this is something that is happening in the world out there and its affecting the environments in Africa, because the food webs will be disrupted when you take out one of the consumers and some of the food of other consumers, meaning that if many other species disappear there will be a big disruption in the environments.