By Jo B | Supporter Care & Database Executive
In June this year the Namibian Government reported a sudden surge in poaching with the discovery of 11 poached rhino carcasses in one national park alone, in the space of just two weeks. Further down the continent in South Africa, 259 rhinos have been poached for their horns this year alone, according to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.
This isn’t the first time a surge like this has occurred. Less than a decade ago rhinos were slaughtered at an alarming rate across Africa, starting with the large population of rhinos in South Africa, then moving north towards Namibia and neighbouring countries. With well-funded professional poaching syndicates operating unchecked, our frontline teams provide vital protection to ensure that history does not repeat itself.
Namibia holds the last stronghold of desert-adapted black rhinos, protected by our partners Save the Rhino Trust. David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DWSF) has long supported safeguarding this truly free-roaming wild population of black rhino, the last of their kind in Namibia. With a potential crisis looming, every single rhino counts. For a species that has existed for over 40 million years, we cannot sit idle and watch them fall into the history books. Our frontline teams are the gatekeepers to stopping poachers from reaching rhinos, providing vital protection to this already vulnerable sub-species.
Through continuing your support to DSWF and to rhinos, you will be directly protecting Namibia’s last stronghold of desert-adapted black rhinos through:
With your help we can put a stop to this rise in rhino poaching and ensure that the desert-adapted black rhino lives on for generations to come.
New rhino population estimates have recently been released and DSWF are saddened to see the continued ecline in the global rhino population due to relentless poaching and habitat loss. Population estimates for all five rhino species have been updated by the IUCN and devestatingly shown that collectively the world rhino population has decreased by 3.7% in the last year. With an estimated global wild rhino population of just 26,272. Making it more important now more than ever for DSWF to continue to fight, protect and engage on behalf of rhinos across the world.
Find out more about our work with Rhinos
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