On September 22nd, World Rhino Day celebrates five species of rhinos around the world. From a conservation perspective, the day raises awareness of the plight of these beautiful beasts.
The five species of rhinos include Black, White, Greater One-horned, Sumatran, and Javan. At one time, rhinos were found throughout Eurasia and Africa. In the early 20th century, about 500,000 rhinos roamed the earth. Today, rhinos have a hard time surviving outside national parks and reserves. The Javan and Sumatran rhinos in Asia are critically endangered. There are only about 58 to 68 Javan rhinos in the world. In 2011, a subspecies of the Javan rhino was declared extinct. Today, only 80 Sumatran rhinos remain.
In India, the greater one-horned rhino (also called the Indian rhino) increases in number thanks to conservation efforts. Today, there are more than 3,500 of these rhinos. However, they are still considered vulnerable. The Black rhino is also critically endangered. Of the five rhino species, white rhinos boast the highest numbers, with more than 20,000. Things that threaten rhinos include poaching, loss of habitat, disease, and natural disasters. Some people hunt rhinos because they believe the horns have powerful healing properties. They illegally sell the horns to be ground into powder. As a result, poachers hunt the animal only to harvest the horns.
World Rhino Day was announced by the World Wildlife Fund-South Africa in 2010. Just one year later in 2011, World Rhino Day became an international success. Since then, NGOs, zoos, concerned individuals and wildlife organizations around the world unite each year to celebrate World Rhino Day.
The theme for 2021 is "Keep The Five Alive".
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