Hi
,
Here are two photos of white rhinos. Can you see the difference? The one on the top is the way they are supposed to look. Rhinos have one main horn and a smaller one behind it. They essentially are made of the same material contained in your fingernails - keratin.
There are two types of African rhinos, the black (also known as hook-lipped) and the white (known as square-lipped). The white is the larger species of the two.
Rhinos use their horns for defense, mainly against each other, but certainly in the event that they are attacked, or to attack another creature (which is rare).
A rhino's horn can weigh up to 8 pounds, and can be worth $500,000! That's right! Half a million dollars for a good sized rhino horn. But, why?
That's the question. And the answer is very strange. Briefly, it's mainly because various people groups, mainly in the far East, have believed for centuries that rhino horn can cure all kinds of maladies. It can't! But, just like Eve, who was deceived in the Garden of Eden, people have been deceived into believing a lie - one that could bring one of God's amazing creatures to extinction! So, they're willing
to pay dearly to cure themselves of various sicknesses - like cancer. However, since rhino horn is essentially keratin, it would be just as beneficial to chew on your fingernails!
The problem has become so severe that many game reserves in Africa have been forced to take the drastic step to keep their rhino populations dehorned in order to protect the dramatically dwindling populations.
On our last wildlife safari, our group was invited to participate in the dehorning process of a male white rhino. After it was dehorned, a purple medicine was liberally painted on the area to reduce the possibility of infection. Click on the link below to see the rhino after it "came to". He has a purple nose!
I was permitted to have a brief, private filming session with the rhino before it was revived. I wanted to record this so that I can include it in a planned Ranger Mike video entitled, "The Lie!". Click on the other link to see this short video.
