International Lifestyle Magazine Issue 49 | Page 14

Rhinos are one of the great elders of the animal kingdom. Ancient bushman rock paintings in Southern Africa depict rhinos which have always played an important role in the circle of life. These are the true wisdom carriers of the continent. They are prehistoric creatures and according to science they have been around for 50 million years. Yet 95% of the world rhino population has been decimated by humans in a short time period. At the beginning of the 19th century, there were one million rhinos in the wild. By 1970, there were around 70,000. Today there are less than 24,500. Some 100 rhinos have been killed this past month in South Africa and more recently the statistics for rhino poaching has increased to 5 dead rhinos per day. Even in Namibia where rhino poaching had firmly decreased, it is on the rise once again. In June in Namibia a rhino was discovered dead with its horns brutally removed 6 months after a mother rhino was discovered dead on Christmas All photos on this page credit: Dave Hamman Photography www.internationallifestylemagazine.com