Western black rhino declared extinct

[tawadi]

Source: BBC

9 November 2011 Last updated at 21:17 ET

By Daniel Boettcher Environment Correspondent

No wild black rhinos remain in West Africa, according to the latest global assessment of threatened species.

The Red List, drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has declared the subspecies extinct.

A subspecies of white rhino in central Africa is also listed as possibly extinct, the organisation says.



Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15663982

[Harmony Blue]

1. So sad

Feeling powerless to help these creatures is a terrible feeling

[Poll_Blind]

2. Hopefully those buying the powdered horn for potency will nolonger be able...

...to get erections, be unable to reproduce, die out and leave the world a slightly better place.

I can hope, anyway.

PB

[tawadi]

3. The stupid thing is..

the rhino horns have the same ingredients as ground up toe nails.

The killings were senseless.

[proud patriot]

40. I'm in tears , this was so totally senseless

:cry:

[iscooterliberally]

4. +1

[Xipe Totec]

5. Here, here! nt

[myrna minx]

6. .

:-(

[beam me up scottie]

7. I don't ever want to hear about another species' extinction.

Ever.

I can't bear it, I don't want to live long enough to see the last tiger, or the last polar bear displayed in a zoo.

Willful ignorance, superstition and greed.

I wish there really was a hell.

[totodeinhere]

14. In the history of this planet about 99% of all species have gone extinct.

Most extinctions happened before man even walked the earth. It is sad to see it happen, but it's a normal phenomenon. Eventually our species will also go extinct. That doesn't mean that man should contribute to extinctions, and we should try to save species if possible. But we need to put this in perspective. Extinctions do happen.

[beam me up scottie]

15. This extinction didn't just "happen".

Wiping out the last Passenger Pigeon wasn't a normal phenomenon either.

[totodeinhere]

17. Actually, in the history of the planet there are many examples of one species causing another

species to become extinct. Man is not the only culprit. And it is believed by many anthropologists that our species caused the extinction of the Neanderthals as well by out competing them for resources. So are you going to bash men for doing that too? Primitive man also probably caused the extinction of the woolly mammoth.

Don't worry. As I said, men will also become extinct one day. Then our influence on this planet will be over.

[beam me up scottie]

18. Did those species *know* they were wiping out another because of superstition and greed?

KNOWING what you're doing is wrong is one of the things that's supposed to separate us from other species.

Rhinos aren't slaughtered because their killers are hungry.

[totodeinhere]

22. Nothing separates us from other species. Unless you want to believe a religious fairytale,

and I don't, we are just another species walking this earth.

[beam me up scottie]

34. Really? Is global climate change a fairytale too?

Humans have deliberately doomed many species due to ignorance, greed and malice.

[EFerrari]

49. Our frontal lopes separate us from other animals.

How we got them or whether it was a good idea is another matter.

[totodeinhere]

52. Other species also have unique characteristics that separate them from us as well.

But that doesn't change the fact that we are just another species that walks the face of the earth. Some people are presumptuous enough to think that we should have special privileges on this planet. But I don't think so.

[poverlay]

53. We are the only species on earth who can even comprehend extinction, not

to mention the unique and awesome ability, what some might call a "gift", of imagination. Imagination to envisage any E.L.E., and escape it. If that isn't a clear separation then I don't know what could be..

[Harmony Blue]

51. This is all true

but since we have this knowledge, I feel we as a species can do something to slow down these mass extinction events. Prevent? Probably not, but we can at least try IMVHO.

[closeupready]

25. When the last tiger dies (which day is coming, of course), ....

well, what can I say. :cry: All the big mammals with which humans compete will become extinct wihtin the next 150 years.

[beam me up scottie]

35. I don't understand how some people can be so indifferent.

We have unfairly vilified and exterminated predators for centuries, and not just mammals, Great White Sharks are on the short list too.

[zonkers]

29. I feel ya, man.

[beam me up scottie]

36. Thanks.

Glad I'm not alone.

[proud patriot]

41. It breaks my heart , I don't want to hear of another ever again

:hug:

[beam me up scottie]

42. thank you.

Really, it's very comforting to know I'm not the only one. :hug:

[kestrel91316]

8. Well, at least now no one has to go the trouble and expense of trying to

protect it anymore.

:sarcasm:

[Plucketeer]

9. This is gonna sound really cold........

..... Thing is, NOTHING is forever. Who was here to mourn for the loss of THOUSANDS of species that have disappeared in the past??? No one. Who are WE to think we can hold back evolution from progressing? We can't. Whether it's been climate changes - interspecieal strategies - volcanos - ice ages or asteroids, there's been erasures and niche claims made ever since the first single-celled things wriggled about.
Now - this planet's "blessed" with a creature that can assess it's place in space and in history AND that's cursed with an integral nostalgia thing that really doesn't make sense against the history of what's been before it. That's us humans. COULD we stop the loss of other species that'er ill equipped to deal with the crafty selfishness of man? Sure. We could do like we have in trying to protect Afghanis and Iraqis from themselves. All it would take is billions of dollars and thousands of troops.

Really - we're an integral part of evolution - no matter HOW HARD we try to set ourselves apart from it. And as such, we're going to impact the other species we profess to love so much.
As I type this post, I'm kept company by four parrots - two of which are threatened with extinction in the wild. Ours were domestically hatched and have lived long lives so far. Our home is one of a number of sanctuaries that they'll likely make a last stand in. But to what end when their habitats are disappearing? WHERE would the make a "comeback" if they could?

When WE, and all the species we helped eradicate, are gone - new life forms will emerge from the rubble. If they're lucky, they won't have anyone trying to stop the clock.

[beam me up scottie]

11. Humans are an invasive species.

If we were the next one to become extinct it would be cosmic justice.

It's selfish and inhumane to preserve and display a species that can no longer live in its natural habitat.

[SteveM]

26. I contribute in some small ways to preventing unnecessary extinction...

By contributing to organizations which "retire" grazing land for wildlife, by joining work parties which extract "invasive" flora from creek beds, by paying taxes & fees for hunting/fishing licenses which go to set-asides for species threatened by ag practices and development.

You say "It's selfish and inhumane to preserve and display a species that can no longer live in its natural habitat."
We have refuges in this country which try to keep a threatened species going; the Alabama Crouton was discovered in the Balcones Canyonlands Wildlife Refuge near Austin, Texas in the 1990s. The Black Cap Vireo and the Golden Cheek Warbler are both endangered and located here. All are threatened by the prolific white tail deer (and feral hogs) on the land, and hunts are regularly held to prevent the deer from destroying plants and nesting sites.

Is a place like Balcones Canyonlands a refuge or a "preserve?" Biologists complain of invasive Blue Jays threatening to displace other "native" species here as they follow the rural-like "ranchette" developments surrounding the refuge. And they complain of cowbirds which destroy the eggs of endangered birds, lay their own, and "use" the adults as surrogate mothers. Biologists use traps to control cowbirds.

I don't think humans are any more invasive than white tail deer, which now are spreading into areas of mule deer, inter-grading with them, and causing the possible decline in mule deer numbers.

It should be noted that one method of enhancing and returning species extirpated from their "natural" area is to capture them, then return them to those areas. Elk have been transported back to Kentucky (a former "natural" range), and have now increased to huntable populations. White tail deer were treated the same way a century ago. Pronghorn antelope, same way.

I know it is fashionable in some quarters to see humans as an inferior, threatening species, but humans are part of the environment and ecosystem, and we should make the best of it, since we can think and contemplate both good and evil.

[beam me up scottie]

37. Thank you for your reasoned response and your efforts to save native wildlife.

Unfortunately Rhinos don't live in North America.

Red Wolves do, but we've hunted them to the brink of extinction (there were less than 20 left in the wild before we stepped up).
And even though they're being bred in captivity, we've no place to return them to.


I do not want to live in a world where the only place you can see a wolf or tiger is in a zoo or sanctuary.

If they cannot live free I believe it's wrong to keep them around solely to assuage our guilt.

[Plucketeer]

43. So then...

This one bird we keep as a pet (was domestically hatched and raised) shouldn't be kept alive once it's dwindling habitat is completely erased? It's happening as I type this. The place is Madagascar and it's just about stripped clean of it's once lush forests. So what's my responsibility to this innocent feathered buddy that sits and watches TV with me every night?

[beam me up scottie]

44. Is it kept in a cage?

I know you love your bird and do everything possible to make sure he's happy, but I have a thing about wild animals being kept in captivity.

I am not judging you in any way, honestly.

[Plucketeer]

47. I would NEVER keep him

or our other three in a cage. That's just wrong. Two of them don't even have cages and the other two - while they have cages that they can choose to go in - are free to choose not to. I try to let them fly in the house to a degree. It's just not right for a bird not to experience flight - unless of course, it's a Kiwi.

[beam me up scottie]

48. Then they're very fortunate.

:)

[pansypoo53219]

10. poachers need an instant death penalty.

you TOUCH an edangered animal. DEAD. and same for the buyers. china NEEDS to do that.

[SteveM]

16. Some African nations already carry out your desires...

...and shoot poachers on sight, in the field.

[Withywindle]

19. I'm totally OK with this. n/t

[closeupready]

24. And when executed, those are not cases on which I'd mount an opposition to the death penalty.

Speaking personally.

[ladjf]

12. Humans are too stupid to survive. We'll also be extinct soon. nt

[liberal N proud]

13. Shame on Mankind

We were supposed to be the smart one, the ones who would care for the rest of the animals and the environment they need to live.

Shame on US!

[harvey007]

20. Africa's Western Black Rhino declared extinct

Source: MSNBC

GENEVA — The Western Black Rhino of Africa was declared officially extinct Thursday by a leading conservation group.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature said that two other subspecies of rhinoceros were close to meeting the same fate.
The Northern White Rhino of central Africa is now "possibly extinct" in the wild and the Javan Rhino "probably extinct" in Vietnam, after poachers killed the last animal there in 2010.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45236688/ns/world_news-world_environment/#.Trwvrhyf5BE

[Lunabelle]

21. I heard this on NPR this morning and cried

The only Rhinos are in zoos now.

[pitohui]

45. i heard there were no more female northern black rhinos left even in captivity

which means that species is functionally extinct as well and will be gone when the last male goes

[Blue_Tires]

23. humanity really sucks sometimes...

:argh:

[Liberalynn]

27. This is a tragic circumstance

How long before human ignorance and selfishness, drives every living creature into extinction?Including mankind itself.

[NickB79]

28. Two rhino species in less than a month

First the Vietnamese rhino, and now this.

Damn, we're on a roll! :sarcasm:

[and-justice-for-all]

30. congratulations goes out to the Human Animal...

for successfully destroying yet another speices on this planet.

I look forward to a time when Homo Sapien Spaien gets added to the extiniction list.

[BiggJawn]

31. Which animal becomes the next "folk remedy" for limpy dicky?

You KNOW they've got to have one.

Hey, don't powdered ReTHUGlican brains cure impotence?

[Uncle Joe]

32. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, tawadi.

[fishwax]

33. .

:(

[24601]

38. Too bad - with the right seasoning, they tasted like chicken. n/t

[Odin2005]

39. All because those who think "Alternative Medicine" works want boners.

Woo kills.

[pitohui]

46. the demand dropped like a rock when viagra came out, but it was just too late

there is a long lag time between the extinction of the animal and when it is officially declared extinct unfortunately

[JNelson6563]

54. Well said.

[BootinUp]

50. I can't believe MacGyver let this happen!

There was an episode about this back in the mid nineties or so. Ok, maybe that joke was bad form, I can't believe the human race let this happen.