Pippa Corbett answered
The rhino is considered an endangered specie, because their numbers have been dropping dramatically in recent years - to the point that a number of sub-species are already virtually extinct!
How many rhinos are left in the world today?
If you had asked this question at the turn of the 20th century, the answer would have been 500,000.
In 1970, that number reached 70,000.
Ask that question now (in 2012), and the answer is that there are around 29,000 rhinos left in the world today - and the blame for the reduction lies mainly with mankind!
The African White Rhino is the most abundant sub-specie on the planet. There are thought to be over 20,000 of them roaming the plains of Africa.
Its close relative, the Black Rhino, is far less common, and there are less than 5,000 of them currently in the wild.
The story gets more depressing the further you travel east.
Because of the large demand for rhino horns in Chinese medicine, Asian Rhinos have been driven to the brink of extinction.
The Greater One-horned Rhino lives in Nepal and northern India, and there are thought to be fewer than 3000 left alive.
The Sumatran Rhino, which was once fairly common in areas of China, Malaysia and Indonesia is now reduced to a population of just 200 (the same as the human population of Edgerton, Wyoming).
The story of the Javan Rhino is the saddest of all. With a population that once spanned huge areas of China and India, there are now less than 40 Javan Rhinos left in the world today.
How many rhinos are left in the world today?
If you had asked this question at the turn of the 20th century, the answer would have been 500,000.
In 1970, that number reached 70,000.
Ask that question now (in 2012), and the answer is that there are around 29,000 rhinos left in the world today - and the blame for the reduction lies mainly with mankind!
The African White Rhino is the most abundant sub-specie on the planet. There are thought to be over 20,000 of them roaming the plains of Africa.
Its close relative, the Black Rhino, is far less common, and there are less than 5,000 of them currently in the wild.
The story gets more depressing the further you travel east.
Because of the large demand for rhino horns in Chinese medicine, Asian Rhinos have been driven to the brink of extinction.
The Greater One-horned Rhino lives in Nepal and northern India, and there are thought to be fewer than 3000 left alive.
The Sumatran Rhino, which was once fairly common in areas of China, Malaysia and Indonesia is now reduced to a population of just 200 (the same as the human population of Edgerton, Wyoming).
The story of the Javan Rhino is the saddest of all. With a population that once spanned huge areas of China and India, there are now less than 40 Javan Rhinos left in the world today.
