The Slaughter of the Rhino

Mama gnome strives to stay positive and see the glass half-full.

But it's hard to keep a stiff upper gnome lip and be optimistic when you learn about the slaughter of the Rhino.

Rhinos are being slaughtered for their horns.

Rhino horns are illegally sold and bought in Asia for use for "traditional Chinese medicine" and in the Middle East as handles for ornamental daggers.

Last June 2010, poachers in South Africa killed..."the last female rhinoceros in a popular game reserve near Johannesburg...(it) bled to death after having its horn hacked off."

The rhino was a mother.

"Her distraught calf was moved to a nearby estate where it was introduced to two other orphaned white rhinos."

According to this report, rhino poaching has severely worsened with:

Wildlife officials in...South Africa say 2010 was an extraordinarily bad year, with 333 rhinos poached, nearly three times as many as were lost in 2009. Five more rhinos were killed in the first weeks of 2011.

There are five species of rhinoceros:

First, the White Rhinoceros with two subspecies, the northern and southern white rhinoceros.

White Rhino

photo by: Ikiwaner, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Waterberg_Nashorn3.jpg

Since 2008: "The last four northern white rhinoceros remaining in the wild are feared to have been killed for their horns by poachers and are now believed to be extinct in the wild. "

The second species, the Black Rhino, is listed as critically endangered by IUCN.

Black Rhino

photo by: Ikiwaner

According to the IUCN..."one of the main threats to the population is poaching for the international rhino horn trade."

The third species is the Indian Rhinoceros or the Great One-horned Rhinoceros. IUCN lists the Indian rhino as vulnerable and habitat decline threatens this species.

Indian Rhino
photo by: Fritz Geller-Grimm

The fourth species is the Javan Rhinoceros.

Javan Rhino

1930 photo of Javan Rhino by: Hoogerwerf, Andries, Rhino Resource Center

Mama gnome has featured this rhino sadly as a Mystery Animal of the Day,for it is considered the most endangered of all the largest mammals in the world.

According to this report:
"Last year, a Javan rhino, which is one of the world's rarest mammals, was found dead in a Vietnamese national park with its horn chopped off. Experts believe only three to five animals still exist in Vietnam."


The fifth species is the Sumatran Rhinoceros.

Sumatran Rhinos at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens

photo by: Charles W. Hardin

IUCN lists the Sumatran Rhino as critically endangered with less than 250 mature individuals and their population continue to decline because of illegal poaching and habitat loss.

Here is a video reporting about rhino poaching. Warning. Some images show the slaughtered rhinos.


video by: AlJazeeraEnglish

Do you think there is any hope for the Rhino? What can we do to help save them?

Visit WWF.

Spread the terrible news about this animal.

Please help save the rhino.

Please help and go green.

(c) 2009-2011 Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog

The Year of the Dying Tiger

photo from:Mayankkatiyar

According to the Chinese zodiac calendar, the year 2010 is the year of the Tiger.

Mama gnome would like to categorize it as the Year of the Dying Tiger.

During the beginning of the 20th century there were an estimated 100,000 tigers.

And now a century later, 100 years later, the tiger population has decreased to less than 3,000 tigers in the wild.

Humans have killed off 97% of the tiger population.

Just in the last ten years tiger habitat has decreased by 40%

What is pushing this animal into extinction?

According to IUCN:

"...consider habitat loss and poaching for trade to be primary causes of a significant decline in Tiger range and numbers."

"Despite strong international action to eliminate it, illegal trade persists...Although all countries have banned use and manufacture of tiger bone, illegal production persists in several Asian countries, especially in China, Malaysia, and Vietnam."

"In China there are several operations engaged in intensive breeding ("farming" of tigers), with the captive population reportedly reaching 5,000. They are pressuring the government to allow them to produce tiger products, and several are already engaged in illegal production of Tiger bone wine."

"Tiger farming perpetuates and threatens to re-ignite consumer demand."



video from: BBCWorldwide


What can we do to help?

Visit WWF's Save Tigers Now

Educate family, friends, children about the plight of the tigers.

Don't buy fur, be it tiger fur, fox fur, or any other animal because it perpetuates the problem.

Don't buy tiger medicine. Don't use tiger medicine.

Report businesses or people who trade in tiger parts, products. It's illegal and Mama gnome would like to add..."downright #$#^#." That's why.

Don't buy tiger wine.

And Mama gnome would like to add, "Why in the world would you want to drink wine fermented from the bones of this animal? Or any other animal actually...Drink morning elixir instead, so vital for life."

Part of the problem that is killing tigers is habitat destruction, so be aware of products you buy, paper products which contribute to the destruction of their habitat.

Please visit Natural Resources Defense Council to see lists of green paper products from toilet paper to paper towels.

Use cloth napkins, recycle old shirts and cut them up to be used instead of paper towels for wiping down counters.

Save our trees and forests and save the tigers' home.

Please help the dying tiger...and go green.

(c) 2010 Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog

Mystery Animal of the Day

With heavy heart, Mama gnome presents the Mystery Animal of the Day, for it is considered the most endangered of all the largest mammals in the world.

The IUCN lists this animal as critically endangered with "less than 50 mature individuals" in the wild.

None exists in a zoo. This animal does not fare well in captivity.

Poachers are the main culprit because this animal's horn and other body parts are used in traditional Chinese medicine even though it is illegal.

If you guessed the Mystery Animal is the Javan Rhinoceros, Mama gnome wants to shake your hand and she urges you to educate your friends and family about the terrible fate this animal faces because of poachers and people who illegally buy and sell them for "medicinal purposes."

Here is a rare picture of a Javan Rhinoceros in the wild taken by Alain Compost in 1980.


photo by Alain Compost from rhinoresourcecenter.com


The Javan Rhinos live in "protected" areas in Ujung Kulon National Park in Java, Indonesia and in Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam.

Mama gnome placed the word protected in quotes because Javan rhinos continue to be threatened by poachers in these areas. They are also vulnerable to diseases and problems with inbreeding because of their low numbers.

The Javan rhino has a single horn. This animal is smaller than the Indian Rhinoceros. The Javan rhino's hide is gray, thick and has folds, giving it the appearance of armor. Rhinos have poor eyesight but they have very keen hearing and sense of smell.

The Javan Rhino is a herbivore and feeds on fallen fruit, shoots and twigs. It is usually a solitary animal except for mothers with their calves and during breeding.

They estimate only five to ten Javan Rhinos are in Vietnam and these individuals have stopped reproducing many years ago.

Mama gnome was quite fascinated to learn, there once were Wooly Rhinos, just like there were Wooly Mammoths.

Here is an illustration of the extinct Wooly Rhinoceros.

photo from: Charles R. Knight, H. Osborn, 'Men of the Old Stone Age'

Wooly rhinos are gone and Javan rhinos may soon disappear.

And this time man is directly responsible for this.

Please help save the Javan Rhinos and prevent them from becoming extinct.

What can we possibly do to help?

Educate other people about this animal and the terrible effects poaching has inflicted on their entire population.

Visit WWF and the International Rhino Foundation.

Report businesses and people who trade on Javan Rhino horns and body parts. It is illegal. It has been illegal since 1975.

Here is a rare video of Javan Rhinos in Ujong Kulon National Park taken by remote-sensing camera:


video by: DiscoveryNetworks


These animals are on the brink of extinction. Please help the Javan Rhinos and all the other rhinos who suffer the same fate.

Just like a rhino, Mama gnome has poor eyesight. But she has a keen nose and multiple folds in her skin. She will use her armor like folds and pointy hat to ward off poachers.

Become part of Mama gnome's rhino protecting team and Go Green.

(c) 2009-2010 Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog