Latest news with #TimKuiper
NDTV
2 days ago
- Science
- NDTV
Dehorning Of Rhinos Can Help Save Them From Poachers, Suggests Study
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. A study suggests dehorning rhinos can help reduce poaching amid population declines. Cutting off horns significantly lowers poaching incentives for hunters, according to the study. Between 2017 and 2023, poachers killed 1,985 rhinos despite $74 million spent on anti-poaching efforts. A new study suggested that the dehorning of rhinoceroses can help save them as their populations continue to decline due to huge demand in markets, mostly illegal, for their horns. The study, published in the journal Science, noted that cutting the horns off rhinos leads to a significant reduction in poaching as it removes the incentive for the hunters. Rhino poaching for horns is a serious issue. The horns of rhinos are said to have medicinal properties in some countries, although there's no scientific evidence. Poaching has led to a significant decline in rhino populations, and conservation efforts are underway to protect them. The conservationist said in the study that they documented the poaching of 1985 rhinos between 2017-2023 across 11 southern African reserves despite around $74 million spent on antipoaching techniques, including focusing on law enforcement, tracking dogs, access controls and detection cameras. The study noted that black and white rhino populations in the Greater Kruger (Kruger National Park and surrounding reserves) in South Africa declined from over 10,000 rhinos in 2010 to around 2,600 in 2023. Meanwhile, the dehorning of 2284 rhinos across eight reserves led to around 78% reductions in poaching using 1.2% of the budget. "Dehorning rhinos to reduce incentives for poaching was found to achieve a 78% reduction in poaching using just 1.2% of the overall rhino protection budget," said Dr Tim Kuiper of Nelson Mandela University, a lead author of the study. "We might need to rethink our goals. Do we just want to arrest poachers? It doesn't appear to be making a massive difference to reducing rhino poaching," Dr Kuiper added. Does dehorning affect rhinos? The workers sedate the rhinos to cut off their horns using a power saw. They also apply a blindfold and earplugs to limit sensory overload. Dehorning does not hurt the animals and poses a very low risk. The horn gradually regrows. "The headline result is that dehorning stood out for its effectiveness. We are cautious to say that the other interventions are not working. They worked when measured by whether they were detecting poachers. But detecting and arresting a load of poachers doesn't necessarily bend the curve on rhino poaching," Kuiper said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Dehorning Rhinos Cuts Poaching by 78% – Saving Thousands of Animals' Lives
Taking the relatively simple step of trimming the horns of wild rhinoceroses is enough to dramatically reduce the rate at which the animals are killed by poachers. Across 11 nature reserves in South Africa, scientists found that dehorning black (Diceros bicornis) and white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) populations saw a sudden, sharp reduction in poaching by an average of 78 percent. It was, by far, the most effective method of curtailing the illegal slaughter of these endangered animals, researchers found. "Dehorning rhinos to reduce incentives for poaching – with 2,284 rhinos dehorned across eight reserves – was found to achieve a 78 percent reduction in poaching, using just 1.2 percent of the overall rhino protection budget," says conservation biologist Tim Kuiper of Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. The rhino horn trade represents one of the most poignant examples of the destructive influence of human activity. The horns of these animals are made from keratin, like our own fingernails and hair; yet the perception persists among many cultures that they have medicinal value in spite of a complete lack of scientific evidence. Demand is so high that most rhino species on Earth are now at the brink of extinction due to poaching. Many different strategies for reducing poaching have been proposed, from 3D printing rhino horns to the death penalty for offenders. Kuiper and his colleagues conducted their study to determine the efficacy of the measures in place across 11 nature reserves in the Greater Kruger area – a landscape of about 2.4 million hectares wherein roughly 25 percent of all Africa's rhinos currently reside. The researchers documented the poaching deaths of 1,985 rhinos between 2017 and 2023. That's roughly 6.5 percent of the rhino population of the area. Most of the investment into anti-poaching measures focuses on reactive strategies – increased ranger presence, cameras, and tracking dogs. In the timeframe the researchers studied, these measures resulted in the arrests of around 700 poachers – but they did not significantly reduce the rate at which rhinos were killed, at least in part because of law enforcement corruption, the researchers say. However, when dehorning measures were enacted, poaching rates plummeted. Dehorning does not harm the rhino; it's a bit like having your nails trimmed or your hair cut. The horn's growth plates are left intact, so the keratin gradually regrows over time. Removing the horn removes the incentive to kill the rhino, since the horn is what the poachers want. When the rhinos were dehorned, not only did the rate of poaching decrease; so too did the rate at which poachers entered the area. However, dehorning was not a straight prevention measure. Because the horn grows back, 111 rhinos with horn stumps were still killed by poachers. Although the poaching rate of dehorned rhinos was lower, even a horn stump was sufficient incentive at least some of the time for the poaching syndicates. And while poaching rates were down in the regions where dehorning was active, poachers often moved onto other regions to try their luck elsewhere, evidence suggests. "It may be best," Kuiper wrote on The Conversation, "to think of dehorning as a very effective but short-term solution that buys us time to address the more ultimate drivers of poaching: horn demand, socio-economic inequality, corruption, and organised criminal networks." Rhino poaching is such a complex issue that no one solution is likely to fix it. Removing the incentive as a first step, however, seems like it may be an important piece of the broader solution. "It's important to check that our conservation interventions work as intended, and keep working that way," says ecologist Res Altwegg of the University of Cape Town. "For me, this project has again highlighted the value of collecting detailed data, both on the interventions that were applied and the outcome. It's such data that makes robust quantitative analyses possible." The researchers dedicate their work to the late Sharon Haussmann of the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation, who was instrumental to this collaborative research effort. The findings have been published in Science Advances. Worms Use Their Bodies to Build Towers as a Wild Survival Strategy Elusive LSD Fungus Finally Discovered on Flower We've Finally Seen The Skyscraper Tsunami That Shook Earth For 9 Days
Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Science
- Daily Maverick
NMU-led research uncovers effective rhino protection measures amidst poaching crisis in Kruger
We shouldn't have to dehorn rhinos to keep them safe. The ideal is to let rhinos live as they should — horns and all. That's the message from a Nelson Mandela University scientist who led a landmark seven-year study showing that while dehorning can significantly reduce poaching, it's not a long-term solution. To truly protect rhinos, he says, we must dismantle the criminal syndicates. A major study published on 5 June in the prestigious journal Science shows that dehorning rhinos — while controversial — is highly effective at reducing poaching in one of the most critical strongholds for these animals. The seven-year study, 'Dehorning reduces rhino poaching', was led by biodiversity scientist Dr Tim Kuiper of Nelson Mandela University, and tracked poaching incidents across 11 reserves in the Greater Kruger region between 2017 and 2023. 'We documented the poaching of 1,985 rhinos — about 6.5% of the population annually — across 11 Greater Kruger reserves over seven years. This landscape is a critical global stronghold that conserves about 25% of all Africa's rhinos,' said Kuiper. Poaching dropped significantly Over the course of the study, 2,284 rhinos were dehorned across eight of the reserves. The results were clear: poaching dropped by 78%, despite the fact that dehorning made up just 1.2% of the overall rhino protection budget. But it wasn't a silver bullet. Some poaching of dehorned rhinos still took place — and new data from 2024–2025 suggests that horn stumps and regrowth are becoming a new target. 'Dehorning may also shift the focus of poachers to horned populations elsewhere,' said Kuiper, who added that he was surprised that syndicates were still willing to kill rhinos for such a small stump of horn. But, he said, with prices ranging from about $30,000 for a kilogram, even the stumps could make the risk worth the reward. Combined with Kruger's vast two million-hectare landscape and evidence of insider information, the risk-reward ratio for poachers remained alarmingly viable, said Kuiper. R1-billion spent — but what worked? Reserves in the study spent R1-billion on anti-poaching interventions between 2017 and 2021 — including helicopters, rangers, tracking dogs, detection cameras and access controls. These efforts resulted in more than 700 arrests, but the data showed no significant statistical reduction in poaching. 'Finally, ineffective criminal justice systems mean that arrested offenders often escape punishment, with evidence from our study area of multiple repeat offenders,' said Kuiper. The study highlights the critical gap in enforcement: arrest without effective prosecution undermines conservation efforts. A human story behind the statistics While the study is rich in hard data, Kuiper said the reasons behind poaching were deeply rooted in inequality. He said the fact that many people living alongside the Kruger National Park were impoverished and unemployed, combined with poor service delivery, created the 'sort of conditions that allow crime to thrive. 'I wouldn't say people wake up in the morning and think, 'I don't have a job and I'm poor, so I'm going to walk into Kruger and kill a rhino.' I think it's more about the syndicates, these very sophisticated criminal networks that are able to thrive better in these contexts because they can more easily recruit and influence people.' Kuper said the syndicates would often go to local shebeens where they would flaunt their wealth, which would attract the attention of young men. He said he had even heard of syndicates offering loans to people who would then be threatened when they were unable to make good on the loan. 'If these young men had had better opportunities, I don't think they would choose to become involved; most of them wouldn't,' said Kuiper. A collaborative effort The project was spearheaded by GKEPF (Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation), a coalition of reserve managers who wanted hard evidence to guide their efforts. Sharon Haussmann, a trailblazer in the field of conservation and the CEO of the GKEPF, played a major role in bringing together scientists and conservationists, said Kuiper. Haussmann, who died earlier this month, believed that the true value of the innovative study, conceived by GKEPF operational managers, lay in its collective critical thinking. The collaboration included contributions from Nelson Mandela University, UCT, Stellenbosch University, Oxford, SANParks, WWF South Africa and the Rhino Recovery Fund. 'From a donor perspective, this study has given excellent insight into where conservation funding should go — and where not to spend,' said Dr Markus Hofmeyr of the Rhino Recovery Fund. Kuiper also paid his respects to rangers who are out in the field daily. 'Rangers are often seen as foot soldiers at the bottom of the hierarchy,' he said. 'They're told where to go and what to do. But we don't often ask them what they think.' He believes that their experience should be treated as critical conservation intelligence. 'Rangers have such a wealth of knowledge. They're out patrolling 24/7. They know the ins and outs of these reserves in ways the data alone can't capture,' said Kuiper. He added that rangers should be better paid and supported to ensure they didn't fall prey to syndicates. Speaking about the inside information that syndicates were fed, he said, 'I think if rangers were better funded, better supported and paid better, they might be less inclined to get involved with criminal syndicates.' An African-led study Beyond the numbers, Kuiper says the story was also one of African leadership in African conservation. 'This was an African team, led by African scientists and African managers, tackling an African crisis,' he said. 'That's still too rare in global science, and it's something I'm proud of.' As for what's next, Kuiper is clear in his beliefs. Dehorning is helping for now. But the endgame is dismantling the syndicates, investing in local communities, and getting to a place where rhinos can keep their horns. 'It should be seen as buying us time to address the bigger problems, which is dismantling these criminal networks, these transnational criminal organisations. There needs to be intelligence led investigations to disrupt those. 'We don't want to have to dehorn rhinos. The first prize is allowing rhinos to be rhinos — with their horns intact.' DM
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Health
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Cutting Off Rhinos' Horns is a Contentious Last Resort to Stop Poaching. New Study Found it Works
Cutting off the horns of sedated rhinos with a chainsaw has been viewed by wildlife conservationists in Africa for more than 30 years as a necessary evil to save the iconic endangered species from poaching. They hoped the drastic action was working, but evidence was scarce. Now, a study published Thursday in the academic journal Science has found that dehorning rhinos has led to a large reduction in poaching in game reserves in and around the Kruger National Park in northern South Africa — an area that's home to 25% of the world's rhinos and is especially vulnerable to poaching. The results of the seven-year study that ended in 2023 are seen as long-awaited evidence that removing rhinos' horns — which needs to be done every one to two years because they grow back — helps them survive, even if the animals lose part of their makeup. Consistently reduced poaching The conclusions seem obvious. Lucrative illegal markets in parts of southeast Asia and China crave rhino horns for use in traditional medicines, and removing the rhinos' horns take away what poachers are after. But Tim Kuiper, a biodiversity scientist at South Africa's Nelson Mandela University and the lead author of the study, said it was new to have long-term data from multiple sites on dehorning rhinos. He said the study, conducted between January 2017 and December 2023, focused on 11 reserves in the Kruger area and compared data from eight that dehorned their rhinos against the three that didn't. It also analyzed data from the reserves before and after they dehorned their rhinos. The study showed that dehorning consistently reduced poaching, Kuiper said. It found that the dehorning of more than 2,000 rhinos resulted in a 78% reduction in poaching in those eight reserves, providing some confirmation that such an invasive intervention was worth it. 'It is a big part of what a rhino is, having a horn,' The Associated Press quoted Kuiper as saying. 'So having to remove it is kind of a necessary evil, if I can put it that way. But it's very effective. There's no doubt it saved hundreds of rhinos' lives.' South Africa has the largest numbers of black and white rhinos. Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya also have significant populations. There are around 17,500 white rhinos and 6,500 black rhinos left in the world, with black rhino numbers reduced from 70,000 in 1970 to less than 2,500 by the time poaching reached a crisis point in the mid-1990s, according to the Save the Rhino organization. Dehorning was not always accepted Dehorning rhinos started in southern Africa as early as 1989. It has not been accepted without question. There has been opposition from animal rights activists but also questions from conservationists over what impact it has on a rhino's wellbeing, and what a future might look like with more hornless rhinos. Vanessa Duthe, a rhino researcher in South Africa not involved in the study, said rhinos use their horns to defend themselves against predators, to compete for territory and, in the case of black rhinos, to look for food. There is also evidence that dehorned rhinos adjust their movements to live in smaller ranges, she said. She said conservationists don't know the full impacts of dehorning, but research had found it had no adverse effect on rhinos' breeding rates or mortality rates. 'What we do know is that the benefits of dehorning by far outweigh any ecological cost that we're aware of today,' Duthe said. She said dehorning a rhino now takes around 10 minutes and the process causes minimum distress. Blindfolds and earmuffs are put on sedated rhinos during dehorning, which also provides an opportunity to microchip rhinos and collect samples that aid research. Only one part of the battle Conservationists agree that dehorning alone will not end rhino poaching and Kuiper said he saw it as a short-to-mid-term solution. Other efforts like more effective law enforcement and better support for game rangers on the frontline are key. While South Africa has helped pull rhinos back from the threat of extinction, more than 400 rhinos a year are still killed by poachers in the country. The dehorning study was a collaboration between scientists from three South African universities, Oxford University in England and game reserve managers and rangers. It also involved the South African National Parks department, the World Wildlife Fund and the Rhino Recovery Fund.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Science
- The Independent
Cutting off rhinos' horns is a contentious last resort to stop poaching. A new study found it works
Cutting off the horns of sedated rhinos with a chainsaw has been viewed by wildlife conservationists in Africa for more than 30 years as a necessary evil to save the iconic endangered species from poaching. They hoped the drastic action was working, but evidence was scarce. Now, a study published Thursday in the academic journal Science has found that dehorning rhinos has led to a large reduction in poaching in game reserves in and around the Kruger National Park in northern South Africa — an area that's home to 25% of the world's rhinos and is especially vulnerable to poaching. The results of the seven-year study that ended in 2023 are seen as long-awaited evidence that removing rhinos' horns — which needs to be done every one to two years because they grow back — helps them survive, even if the animals lose part of their makeup. Consistently reduced poaching The conclusions seem obvious. Lucrative illegal markets in parts of southeast Asia and China crave rhino horns for use in traditional medicines, and removing the rhinos' horns take away what poachers are after. But Tim Kuiper, a biodiversity scientist at South Africa's Nelson Mandela University and the lead author of the study, said it was new to have long-term data from multiple sites on dehorning rhinos. He said the study, conducted between January 2017 and December 2023, focused on 11 reserves in the Kruger area and compared data from eight that dehorned their rhinos against the three that didn't. It also analyzed data from the reserves before and after they dehorned their rhinos. The study showed that dehorning consistently reduced poaching, Kuiper said. It found that the dehorning of more than 2,000 rhinos resulted in a 78% reduction in poaching in those eight reserves, providing some confirmation that such an invasive intervention was worth it. 'It is a big part of what a rhino is, having a horn,' Kuiper said. 'So having to remove it is kind of a necessary evil, if I can put it that way. But it's very effective. There's no doubt it saved hundreds of rhinos' lives.' South Africa has the largest numbers of black and white rhinos. Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya also have significant populations. There are around 17,500 white rhinos and 6,500 black rhinos left in the world, with black rhino numbers reduced from 70,000 in 1970 to less than 2,500 by the time poaching reached a crisis point in the mid-1990s, according to the Save the Rhino organization. Dehorning was not always accepted Dehorning rhinos started in southern Africa as early as 1989. It has not been accepted without question. There has been opposition from animal rights activists but also questions from conservationists over what impact it has on a rhino's wellbeing, and what a future might look like with more hornless rhinos. Vanessa Duthe, a rhino researcher in South Africa not involved in the study, said rhinos use their horns to defend themselves against predators, to compete for territory and, in the case of black rhinos, to look for food. There is also evidence that dehorned rhinos adjust their movements to live in smaller ranges, she said. She said conservationists don't know the full impacts of dehorning, but research had found it had no adverse effect on rhinos' breeding rates or mortality rates. 'What we do know is that the benefits of dehorning by far outweigh any ecological cost that we're aware of today,' Duthe said. She said dehorning a rhino now takes around 10 minutes and the process causes minimum distress. Blindfolds and earmuffs are put on sedated rhinos during dehorning, which also provides an opportunity to microchip rhinos and collect samples that aid research. Only one part of the battle Conservationists agree that dehorning alone will not end rhino poaching and Kuiper said he saw it as a short-to-mid-term solution. Other efforts like more effective law enforcement and better support for game rangers on the frontline are key. While South Africa has helped pull rhinos back from the threat of extinction, more than 400 rhinos a year are still killed by poachers in the country. The dehorning study was a collaboration between scientists from three South African universities, Oxford University in England and game reserve managers and rangers. It also involved the South African National Parks department, the World Wildlife Fund and the Rhino Recovery Fund. ___
