western black rhinoceros extinction species

In addition to lack of protection, poaching plays a major factor in the dwindling rhinoceros population.

Jane Smart, director of the IUCN’s global species program, added, “We have the knowledge that conservation works if executed in a timely manner yet, without strong political will in combination with targeted efforts and resources, the wonders of nature and the services it provides can be lost forever.” “These measures must be strengthened now, specifically managing habitats in order to improve performance, preventing other rhinos from fading into extinction.” “The situation could have had very different results if the suggested conservation measures had been implemented,” said Simon Stuart, chair of the IUCN species survival commission. Today, other species, including the northern white rhino and Asia’s Javan rhino, are also at risk. Now, however, the western black rhino is officially considered to be extinct worldwide, after being a victim of increasingly devastating poaching and seeing little to no conservation efforts. At that point, it was still believed that some of the rhinos existed in captivity, and they remained on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species. Two years ago, the International Union for Conservation of Nature declared Africa’s western black rhino – a subspecies of the black rhino – to be extinct in the wild after they had not been seen since 2006.

Western black rhinoceros extinction species