In only one week,
10 critically endangered rhinoceroses were discovered dead, their carcasses abandoned, inside one specific area of the Kruger National Park in
South Africa. Now, conservation organizations in South Africa are sounding the alarm about this rise in poaching, warning that a new wave of illegal killings could be starting.
Sign the petition to demand that Kruger National Park invest in higher-efficiency monitoring systems to detect poachers, so staff can respond and protect wildlife in real time!Three species of rhinos, including black rhinos in the Kruger National Park, are listed as critically endangered. In the early 1900s, around 500,000 rhinos wandered the earth. But now, fewer than 30,000 remain, spread out across multiple species. While around 100 years ago, around 100,000 black rhinos lived in the wild, today there are only around 5,000.
That means that every rhino lost to poaching has a significant impact on the future of the entire species.
Rhinos face multiple threats to their survival, including illegal poaching so that people can butcher the animals, removing their horns and illegally trafficking them for sale overseas. Habitat loss is also pushing the majestic animals to their limits.
Trading rhino horns has been illegal globally since 1977, when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) intervened and prohibited the trade. But that hasn't stopped greedy people from murdering these animals just to make a profit off of their corpses.
We must make sure that rhinos are safe, by stopping poachers in their tracks. Urge the Kruger National Park to invest in improved monitoring systems! Sign the petition.