World Rhino Day highlights fight to protect five rhino species
Observed internationally on 22 September since 2011, World Rhino Day highlights efforts to protect the habitats of the world’s five rhino species and curb demand for rhino horn.
World Rhino Day is being observed today (22 September) to raise awareness about the conservation of the world's five rhino species and the threats they face.
Observed internationally on 22 September since 2011, the day focuses on the black, white, greater one-horned, Sumatran and Javan rhinos, while highlighting efforts to protect their habitats and curb demand for rhino horn.
The International Rhino Foundation says fewer than 27,000 rhinos remain worldwide, with four of the five species threatened with extinction.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Rhinos have survived for around 50 million years, but their populations have come under severe pressure from poaching and habitat loss.
Conservation groups also use World Rhino Day to counter the misconception that rhino horn has medicinal or curative properties, which they identify as a major driver of demand.
The five rhino species are found across Africa and Asia. The greater one-horned rhino is native to the Indian subcontinent, while the critically endangered Javan and Sumatran rhinos survive in small populations in Indonesia.
World Rhino Day was first announced by WWF-South Africa, an independent conservation organisation, in 2010.
It became an international campaign the following year after conservation advocates Lisa Jane Campbell and Rhishja Cota worked to expand the observance to cover all five species.
Conservation organisations, zoos, NGOs and members of the public mark the day through educational programmes, fundraising activities and awareness campaigns aimed at supporting rhino conservation.
