A Brief History of Rhinoceros Poaching

Trophy hunting of rhinoceros started with the intrusion of colonial Europe into Africa in the 17th century. European expansion with unregulated hunting in the 18th and 19th centuries decimated populations, leading to the near extinction of the Southern White Rhino by 1894. When public outcry followed the discovery of a mere 50 rhinoceros, politicians and community leaders joined forces to establish the first reserve in Africa—iMfolozi Game Reserve, South Africa.

 

By the early 1960s, the program worked so well that the population outgrew the available land. This led to one of history’s greatest successful conservation initiatives, “Operation Rhino”. Game Warden Dr. Ian Player, along with veterinarian Dr. Anthony Hoorthorn, performed translocations of rhinoceros to establish new populations throughout Africa, resulting in the population soaring to near 20,000 Southern White Rhinos by 2010.

But while the Southern White populations were expanding during the 70s, 80s, and 90s, the Black population suffered a staggering 96% decline due to the demand for rhino horn intensifying in Southeast Asia and the Middle East—specifically for traditional medicine and ornamental trinkets.

 

The contemporary “poaching crisis” began in earnest around 2008, marked by a shift from opportunistic killing to sophisticated, military-style operations. While only 13 rhinos were poached in South Africa in 2007, that number exploded to over 1,200 annually by 2014. This modern demand is largely driven by a growing middle class in Vietnam and China, where rhino horn—despite being composed of keratin, the same protein found in human hair and nails—is erroneously prized as a status symbol and a cure for everything from hangovers to cancer. Although international trade has been banned under the CITES  Treaty since 1977, the high black-market value of the horn continues to attract transnational gangs who use helicopters, night-vision gear, and high-caliber weaponry to evade rangers, keeping many rhino species on the brink of extinction.

 

Before colonial expansion in Africa, rhinoceros populations were estimated at between 1 and 2 million. Today’s estimates are around 22,000; 15,500 White and 6,500 Black continentwide.