We Found a Cheetah At the Pool

Living With Big Cats Wild Edition volunteer program in Hoedspruit South Africa. http://www.VolunteerSA.com/
Info@VolunteerSA.com

For more info on why we do this and how you can help, check out the links below

Why are the rhinos horns removed?
http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/rhinos-dehorned-save-their-lives

Rhinos are critically endangered and one of the biggest threats to their survival is poaching. In some parts of the world, there is a high demand for rhino horns and they can sell for as much as $700,000 per kilo. Because of this, poachers will break into game reserves to brutally kill rhinos and cut off their horns. All of these rhinos are in a wild game reserve with armed guards and a lot of other security measures. But poachers are also equipped with sophisticated equipment like GPS trackers, Helicopters and high powered machine guns. Usually if the rhinos are dehorned, the poachers have no use for the animals and will leave them alone, rather than chop off their horn with an ax and leave them to die. Poaching and brutally killing these animals is such an epidemic that extreme measures need to be taken in order to ensure their survival

Don't they need their horn for protection?

All of the rhinos here live in a game reserve. They live wild and they roam free on miles of open space. They are all dehorned which puts them on equal footing. They do not need their horns for protection or defense and they are dehorned every 3 years. These people you see here are professionals who have worked with rhinos and other wild animals for decades. While you may not agree or claim to have better knowledge or better practices than the professionals who have been doing this for years. Remember that this is done for a good reason, which is saving their lives. They are not hurt and when done by trained professionals, this is the equivalent of getting a hair cut ir clipping your nails. The situation if not perfect or ideal but the sad reality is that they can either have their horn safely removed by professionals. Or they can have their horn stollen from them by poachers who mutilate and kill them.

What do you do with the horns after they are cut?

The horns are microchipped for tracking purposes (which is shown in the video) and then sent to storage in a secure location miles outside of the town. The hope is that one day if the rhino horn trade becomes legal. They will be able to flood the market and drive their value down. This way, poachers will no longer need to go to extreme measures, brutally killing the rhinos for their horns.
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Видео We Found a Cheetah At the Pool канала Jon Watson