
A new map of the world’s oldest and biggest rhino horn has been found – and it’s not just for tourists!
- September 7, 2021
The map is based on the information collected by the World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) Rhino Horn Map, a project launched in 2012 by WWF’s International Rhino Programme (IRP) and a collaboration of international conservation organizations and conservation research centres.
This map was developed by WWF and its partners in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).
The team behind the map are now looking for other sources of information about the world-famous horn and hope to make it available online soon.
“We have no data about the horn and it is very hard to measure the horn’s size or shape because it has been destroyed over time,” said Dr Pauline O’Riordan, Director of WWF’s rhino conservation programme.
“But there are some very good ways of measuring the horn, for example the size of the petri dish, and the shape of the horn.
The horn itself has never been measured and it has never come up for sale in any form.”
The map has been used for a number of conservation projects around the world, including the Conservation of the Rhino Horn, a collaborative project between WWF, WWF-Europe, and WWF-Rhinoceros, as well as a study into the global trade in rhino horns.
“It’s very interesting because it’s the only map of its kind to date and it provides some really good information about this iconic species,” said John Deering, Head of WWF-Canada’s Research and Conservation Programme (RCP).
“It is an excellent tool for conservation and shows what rhinos are really like.
It gives a good idea of where they live and what they eat.
It also tells us a lot about the population density of the rhino, which is important to know.”
The maps map is part of WWF Canada’s RCP’s efforts to promote and protect rhino populations in Canada.
“Rhinos are a threatened species in most of the countries they are native to,” said Deering.
“They are endangered because they are the only rhino in the world that can’t reproduce and their numbers have declined dramatically over the last 10, 20 years.”
The rhino’s horn is unique and valuable and we hope it can help bring some order to the horn market.