Editorial: Rhino donation is ironic
What you need to know:
- The five rhino species in existence – three of which are critically endangered – are all native to Africa and Asia, preferring tropical and subtropical savannahs and dense forests, not cold Europe and hostile north America.
In the world of journalism, it is news when “man bites dog”, not when a dog bites a human.
In that context, it arguably came as news to learn that the US recently donated a black rhino to Tanzania. Shouldn’t the reverse have been the case, with the latter supplying rhinos – lots of them – to the US and other Western countries?
The five rhino species in existence – three of which are critically endangered – are all native to Africa and Asia, preferring tropical and subtropical savannahs and dense forests, not cold Europe and hostile north America.
So, it seems awkward that Tanzania – and indeed, Africa – should today be looking to donations of rhinos bred in US zoos using ancestors that were borrowed, bought or otherwise obtained from Africa in earlier days.
Admittedly, such donations are well-intentioned as they are meant to promote the breeding of rhinos and other species that are tottering on the brink of extinction in Tanzania.
However, it is equally important to establish in the first place exactly where we went wrong in the wildlife and nature conservation stakes to the extent that rhinos bred abroad are now shipped to Tanzania to save our own decimated populations.
