E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Workers hold a rhino during a media demonstration at the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve outside Johannesburg, South Africa, on Thursday. The rhino later died.
A conservation group demonstrating an anti-poaching method for reporters in South Africa accidentally killed the rhinoceros they were using in the demonstration.
The rhino, nicknamed Spencer, went into convulsions and died after he was shot with a tranquilizer dart in front of a crush of TV cameras and photographers who had been invited to document an operation to insert a poison capsule into his horn.
The private reserve near the capital, Pretoria, calls in veterinarians to sedate rhinos so their horns can be treated with a dye and an insecticide, and tracking and identification devices can be inserted.
A male in his mid to late 20s, fairly old for such an animal, could not be revived after being sedated Thursday, said Rhino Rescue Project spokeswoman Lorinda Hern.
"The rhino had an unfortunate reaction to the anesthesia," she said. "Every time you dart a rhino, you take a risk that the rhino might not wake up and unfortunately today was one of those days."
Conservation groups insert poison capsules into the horns of rhinos, which release poison into the horn when it is removed from the animal and are meant to render the horn value-less for hunters seeking to sell it on for use in traditional medicine.
Conservation groups sometimes remove horns from rhinos to deter poachers, as msnbc.com's Dara Brown reported in the video below. The horns are similar to hair or fingernails, and grow back after several months.
South Africa is trying to save black rhinos by having veterinarians cut off their valuable horns before poachers kill them. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.
Both anti-poaching procedures require the rhinos to be sedated.
A decade ago South Africa, with more than 20,000 rhinos, was losing about 15 animals a year to poachers. But poaching has increased dramatically since about 2007 as the spread of wealth in places like Vietnam and Thailand has enabled more people to buy rhino horn, which is believed to have magical or medicinal properties in some cultures.
In museums across Europe, rhinoceros horns have been the target of thieves at least 30 times this year, as they go for $99,000 per kilo. Europe NBC's Jim Maceda reports.
A record 448 rhinos were killed by poachers last year in South Africa, home to the greatest number of the animals. The number was up sharply up from 122 in 2009 and 333 in 2010, according to a report by AllAfrica.com. A majority were killed in the Kruger National Park, which borders on Mozambique, the report said.
"It's sad for us; it's the loss of another animal," Hern said, referring to the rhino's death. "It's a death that I still chalk up to poaching."
Msnbc.com staff and Reuters contributed to this report.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Leave a Comment:
Since they are "chalking this up to poaching" and they caused the death..... Are these people now subject to being prosecuted for poaching? I believe they should be...That would be IRONIC!
Only way to combat poaching is shooting the poachers dead or using them for chemicals and drugs testing. Poachers are scum of the Earth when conservationist shoot and kill them is just the same as turning off a light or breathing. No guilt, no regret and no remorse felt. Their lives are far worthless than the life of a freaken ant.
Schwyz1, you said it! It would definitely make them think twice before making another attempt. But what I really wish was that these backwards living people would learn that there are no magical or medicinal properties in Rhino horn (AT ALL). Till then, see a poacher...shoot on site. Problem solved.
How horrible! No animal should die in any kind of demonstration. When will the killing end. As the human race we are suppose to be smarter than the animals. Does not look that way from what I see. All we are any more is money hungry and just me, me, me. No matter what the size, animals do not have anyone to truely look after them. How utterly horrible. The people who do this should have their noses removed or a hole cut into their forhead.
I question this procedure they were doing that required the sedation.
"Conservation groups insert poison capsules into the horns of rhinos, which release poison into the horn when it is removed from the animal and are meant to render the horn value-less for hunters seeking to sell it on for use in traditional medicine."
What good does that do? The rhino is already dead when the horn is removed and the poison releases. Do they paint a little skull and crossbones on the horn so that poachers know the horn is poisoned and it won't do them any good to kill the animal? Do they think the poachers are stupid enough to believe that all of the rhinos are now sporting poisoned horns?
"It's sad for us; it's the loss of another animal," Hern said, referring to the rhino's death. "It's a death that I still chalk up to poaching."
What!!!! still chalk up to poaching?????? You guys are the ones that killed the rhino!!! idiots!!!
There was hope that the invention of Viagra would curb this asian appetite for Rhino horn. They are obssessed with penis size and stamnia, never accepting their own genetics as being nature's selected 'match' to their female counterparts. Sounds like a few poison Rhino horns could change this thousand of year old legend to be; No eat Rhino Horn! Rhino Horn bad! You no eat!
Hopefully these conservationists will think before sedating another 20 year old Rhino and just leave it alone rather than risking its earlier demise from the tranquilizer.
Agree with justsara about how does the poison in the horn prevent the Rhino from being killed by poachers if they don't know the horn's been poisoned? According to this article, the poison and dye is only released during or after the horn has been removed. Doesn't make much sense.
instead of using a rhino for the anti poaching video, they should have used actual poachers being executed in front of a firing wall.
Yea, that would be great. Death penalty for shooting a rhino. What an over-reaction
How's it an over reaction? Only an absolute piece of souless garbage would kill a magnificent animal just to cut off its horn, grind it up, and sell it as bogus johnson juice. I have no problem with putting a bullet between their eyes.
yet it's ok to kill one if you're a "conservationist"? I say we line up these souless pieces of garbage right next to the poachers and kill them all
the rhino should have shot the guy with the tranq and removed his horn.
Hey asians : Newsflash , there's this thing called viagra these days . Use it .It's YOUR fault that the rhino is on the endangered list . Not that you give a crap .
Ok listen-up everyone! This is how NOT to kill an endangered species! Oops.
Dear Conservationists:
Please stop trying to help. We would like to suggest that you kill the poachers instead of us.
Sincerely,
All the Rhinos
That would be a far more effective demostration - to kill a poacher!
(I mean, even my friend Charles could be heard... "I'm jes sayin'. I could be wrong. Tha's trrrble.")
while poaching is a problem, I think a bigger problem for the large African animals is the encroachment of humans on the land that these animals need to live.
Bwaaaaaaaa Fn tree huggers do more harm than good
What the *^%$#....You people are suppose to preserving the animals not killing them..It smells like someone got a kickback...lGive me a *&^%$$%^ break
The Asian community has the mentality "if it moves kill and eat it"...Try not purchashing anything from these mother*&^%$#@
"The rhino had an unfortunate reaction to the anesthesia," she said.
YOU KILLED IT!
Yeah... I would call that unfortunate (for the rhino)!
So I guess if you want to make money selling rhino horn, all you have to do is pose as a "conservationist", over-tranquilize the animals, and then say you were just trying to help and its not your fault. Obviously there's no punishment for these ass-clowns who murdered that beautiful animal.
Please note that a number of facts in this article are incorrect. The animal was not treated as part of a demonstration, a number of animals in the reserve (including pregnant cows who have since given birth to perfectly healthy babies) have already been treated and he was next to be done. Since there has been so much interest in the programme, the media were invited to witness the treatment. The horn is treated with mixture of ectoparasiticides and an indelible dye which is infused into the horn using a high-pressure device patented by the vet who has pioneered the programme. A full DNA sample is taken, three identification microchips are inserted and lastly a tracking device is fitted. The ectoparasiticides (which are registered for use in animals to treat ticks, fleas and other parasites are ox-pecker friendly and vulture safe) are not intended for consumption by humans and although not lethal in small quantities, they are extremely toxic, and ingestion will cause severe nausea, vomiting and even convulsions. The dye is similar to products used in the banking industry, it is bright pink and clearly seen inside a treated horn which means that there can be no doubt about whether a horn is treated or not. It is also visible on an x-ray scanner. The information from the DNA sample is added to the national database of rhino and, together with the microchips which are for identification, can be used to trace which rhino a horn comes from if its poached. The tracking device allows the real-time tracking and location of the rhino horn (whether it is on the rhino or has already been removed) using satellites and sophisticated cellular technology.
Please note that a number of facts in this article are incorrect. The animal was not treated as part of a demonstration, a number of animals in the reserve (including pregnant cows who have since given birth to perfectly healthy babies) have already been treated and he was next to be done. Since there has been so much interest in the programme, the media were invited to witness the treatment. The horn is treated with mixture of ectoparasiticides and an indelible dye which is infused into the horn using a high-pressure device patented by the vet who has pioneered the programme. A full DNA sample is taken, three identification microchips are inserted and lastly a tracking device is fitted. The ectoparasiticides (which are registered for use in animals to treat ticks, fleas and other parasites are ox-pecker friendly and vulture safe) are not intended for consumption by humans and although not lethal in small quantities, they are extremely toxic, and ingestion will cause severe nausea, vomiting and even convulsions. The dye is similar to products used in the banking industry, it is bright pink and clearly seen inside a treated horn which means that there can be no doubt about whether a horn is treated or not. It is also visible on an x-ray scanner. The information from the DNA sample is added to the national database of rhino and, together with the microchips which are for identification, can be used to trace which rhino a horn comes from if its poached. The tracking device allows the real-time tracking and location of the rhino horn (whether it is on the rhino or has already been removed) using satellites and sophisticated cellular technology.
The point is how do poachers know which Rhinos have been treated with the dye which they don't until the Rhino has been killed and the horn cut off. This method does nothing to prevent the slaughter of a particular Rhino but only to track the horn cause the end user to become sick.
It would be more accurate to say that this method was meant to hopefully deter the use of Rhino horns for whatever purposes but doesn't prevent their killings.
I would just like to know a few things...so explain to me what they are doing with the ILLEGAL RHINO HORNS...and why they are able to obtain them??? IF they really understand how dangerous the anastetic is why are they using it on the older rhinos and why in front of all the cameras...why not take your own pics and documentations instead of endangering the poor animal by wasting the VERY precious time being "under" who...DID NOT COME TO YOU FOR A PROCEDURE. I believe they when these animals are IN THE WILD they are to be left alone...if you dont want the poachers to get them and kill them...apply for a permit for a gun and become a LEGAL park ranger/conservation/police and SHOOT THE POACHER....oh btw...every actual scientist I know would never go out of their way to become an active participant in anything as hanious as this unless there was an active study done along with it...lets hope they have some sort of research going on (like how to prevent a rhinoserous desease from spreading from one to another) with what they are doing.
I agree with Schwyz1. This would also work for our congress.
Tagging them is such a great idea. It will make poaching them so much easier and as for the poison, I suspect that the poacher isn't going to care what they pass on to the unwary consumer.
I have never commented on a story until now. I guess I'm just fed up. First, @archie midwest, thank you for obviously being the only observant reader here. Does anyone else not see a huge red flag when it comes to the "conservationists" POISONING the horn (or any part of an animal) to keep the poachers from killing said animal?! Where on this good green earth is the logic in that? Poison? Really? And what are the statistics on the success of this method of "conservation?" I just don't see how it is remotely justified. Talk about throwing the baby out with the bath water.