April 8 is the International Day for the Protection of Rare Animals, which are rare and precious animals in nature. Due to climate change, environmental pollution, human activities, habitat loss and other reasons, some rare animals were once endangered. Illegal poaching and smuggling pose an important threat to the survival of many rare species. The International Day for the Protection of Rare Animals aims to promote the protection of rare animals, which are the common wealth of all mankind and a precious, irreplaceable and non-renewable natural resource. At the same time, it is also the common responsibility of all mankind, and it is also an important way and means to maintain biodiversity and maintain ecological balance.
rhinoceros
In the 20th century, the black rhino used to be the most abundant of all rhinos. But in the second half of the 20th century, the number of black rhinos declined dramatically. The main threat to black rhinos is poaching and habitat loss, and people hunt black rhinos for their horns. About 548 rhinos were poached in Africa last year. Overall, the total is a slight increase compared to 2021, when 539 rhinos were poached. Most of the rhinos poached last year were killed in Namibia and South Africa. Poaching in Namibia almost doubled last year: 87 rhinos were killed in 2022 (from 45 the year before).
On November 19, 2013, local time, Lewa, Kenya, the carcass of a black rhino killed by poachers was taken by poachers.
On August 20, 2018, local time, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the wildlife protection department displayed 50 captured rhino horns.
On April 15, 2022, local time, in Johannesburg, South Africa, in Kruger National Park, an endangered black rhino.
In Africa, 25 May 2020, dogs were trained to protect South Africa's wildlife to stop poaching. So far, they have saved 45 rhinos from poaching.
On May 11, 2022, local time, Samburu County, Kenya, the Sierra Rhino Sanctuary was the first black rhino breeding reserve established in East Africa. Since the establishment of the reserve, rhino populations have increased and there have been no cases of poaching.
There is a rhino orphanage in Limpopo province, South Africa, and in 2022 the staff of the rhino orphanage spent six weeks moving more than 30 baby rhinos to their new homes. Hopefully, there, the animals will be safe away from the poachers who killed their parents. According to the South African government, a total of 451 rhinos were poached in the country in 2021, and a kilogram of rhino horn was sold for thousands of dollars on the black market.
On July 14, 2022, local time, in Limpopo Province, South Africa, the staff of the rhino orphanage transferred the baby rhino to a secret location.
On July 14, 2022, local time, in Limpopo Province, South Africa, the staff of a rhino orphanage played with a baby rhino.
Sumatran orangutans
Among primates, they are second only to gorillas in size, with wide cheeks and burly figures. Sumatran orangutans know how to use tools to get food, and they seem to behave closer to humans.
On June 22, 2021, local time, Chester, England, the Sumatran orangutan "Emma" in Chester Zoo holds her cub. The Sumatran orangutan is one of the most endangered primates in the world.
On December 16, 2020, local time, at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, a Sumatran orangutan smuggled to Thailand was in a flight box, and it was about to return to Indonesia by plane.
Mountain gorilla
In Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ndakasi, a mountain gorilla who lost both parents, lay in the arms of her caregiver, Andre Bauma, before dying, in 2021.
On September 21, 2021, local time, in the Virunga National Park of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the mountain gorilla Ndakasi (Ndakasi) lay in the arms of Andre Bauma.
It is the world's only mountain gorilla orphanage for mountain gorilla orphanages who have lost their families to poaching or conflict. Born on April 17, 2007 in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ndakasi was the only survivor when his family was shot dead by local militia when he was two months old, and was still trying to suck his mother's milk when he was discovered.
Saved Nda Kasi
Growing Ndakasi
Nda Kasi with rangers
African elephants
In Africa, the survival of wild elephant herds has been the focus of global conservationists. Elephants not only have a cute side, but also have the same joy and sorrow and wisdom as humans. Ivory poaching and illegal wildlife trade remain one of the serious threats to African elephants, and as Africa's population grows rapidly, so does the conflict between humans and elephants over land resources.
On December 6, 2022, local time, in Ambolaisi National Park, Kenya, 50-year-old tusk elephant Craig exposed its huge 9-foot-long tusks. Tusks refer exclusively to elephants with tusks weighing up to 7 stone, which are rare and very vulnerable to poaching.
On June 2, 2016, local time, Harare, Zimbabwe, a staff member of a Zimbabwe national park inspected ivory stocks at the headquarters.
In 2018, 90 elephant carcasses were found in the Botswana Wildlife Sanctuary in Africa, with most of their tusks cut off. Most of the elephants hunted were male elephants with huge tusks that were shot with large-caliber rifles at a wildlife drinking area in Botswana.
Elephants whose tusks have been cut off
African elephants and cubs in a national park, Botswana, July 7, 2022, local time.
There are two elephant orphanages in the world, one in Sri Lanka and one in Kenya. In 1975, Sri Lanka Wildlife built the world's first "elephant orphanage" for homeless baby elephants. In 1987, an "elephant orphanage" was established on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya's capital.
On November 12, 2018, local time, elephants bathed in the river at the elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka.
Two baby orphans cling close together in a local elephant orphanage in a local elephant orphanage on December 17, 2019, their long snouts wrapped around each other, looking like they were hugging.
On October 12, 2022, local time, at the Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Center in Kenya, staff petted baby elephants.
sloth
A sloth is a wild animal with plants such as algae and lichen on its body, and although it has feet, it cannot walk, relying on its forelimbs to drag its body forward. Its movements are extremely slow, and in the face of danger, its escape speed is no more than 0.2 m/s.
On January 12, 2023, local time, London Zoo, England, released a photo of a two-toed sloth baby born on New Year's Day.
On March 13, 2023, local time, a small sloth named Gloria rescued from illegal trafficking in the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, Brazil.
hornbill
On February 12, 2023, local time, a pair of hornbills in Khao Yai National Park, Korat Province, Thailand. The hornbill is a symbol of eternal love.
On July 26, 2019, local time, officials from the Indonesian Nature Conservation Agency (BKSDA) display captured hornbill skulls in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
tiger
Due to human hunting and fragmentation of wild habitats, tigers are rare and endangered. China is the country with the largest number of tiger species in the world, and India has the largest number of tigers in the world, although there is only one Bengal tiger. In the mid-20th century, due to deforestation and overhunting, the Indian tiger population dwindled to several hundred. Trade in tiger skins and bones is also an important factor in tigers' extinction.
The Indochinese tiger, an endangered animal, is a subspecies of tiger.
On July 23, 2019, local time, Hanoi, Vietnam, Vietnamese police seized 7 tiger carcasses.
Green sea turtles
The green turtle is one of the largest hard-shelled turtles, named for the green fat on its body. Indonesia is located on the migration route of green sea turtles in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Some poachers poach green sea turtles and make them into specimens or ornaments, resulting in a decline in green sea turtle populations.
Green sea turtles in Philippine waters
On December 31, 2021, local time, in Bali, Indonesia, people rescued 32 green sea turtles from illegal wildlife smuggling and released them into the sea.
On March 14, 2023, local time, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, children released green turtle cubs on the beach.
cheetah
Every year, cheetah pups are trafficked through Somaliland to wealthy buyers in the Middle East in order to own exotic pets. The cheetah cubs, taken from their mothers, were transported by boat out of Africa, to war-torn Yemen, and then transferred to the Gulf. One surviving cheetah cub sells for a lot on the black market. It's a busy trade that's not as well-known as the criminal market for ivory or rhino horn, but just as devastating for Africa's most endangered big cats.
Middle Eastern buyers who love cheetahs
On February 2, 2019, local time, at Chennai Customs International Airport, India, Indian authorities arrested a passenger suspected of smuggling a leopard cub from Bangkok that weighed just over a kilogram (2.4 pounds) and was hidden in a plastic basket.
On September 17, 2021, local time, in Hargeisa, Somaliland, members of the Cheetah Conservation Foundation were feeding baby cheetahs.
On September 17, 2021, local time, Hargeisa, Somaliland, Cheetah Conservation Foundation, a cheetah lies in a cage.
pangolin
Pangolins are ground-dwelling mammals with a narrow body and scaled armor all over their bodies. Pangolins are widely regarded as exotic animals and food, and scales and bones are also used in medicine. Due to the high value of pangolins, they have been illegally hunted and smuggled on a large scale.
On November 14, 2021, local time, in Bopolu, Liberia, a man displays a bag of pangolin scales ready to be sold.
On November 17, 2021, local time, in Monrovia, Liberia, the Forestry Development Authority inspected a market and confiscated pangolin meat for sale.
On July 18, 2022, local time, Klang, Malaysia, customs officers display seized pangolin scales at the customs building.
On October 12, 2022, local time, in the Indonesian state, the Wildlife Rescue Center released pangolins caught in illegal trade into the wild.
On November 23, 2021, local time, South Africa opened the largest pangolin veterinary hospital.
On March 28, 2022, local time, in the Manioni Reserve in South Africa, pangolin guardian Donald Davis held a rescued pangolin Stevie, which is about to be released.
Humans and wildlife have always been closely linked and interdependent. Promoting safe, stable and prosperous coexistence between people and wildlife is the direction of long-term human efforts. To better protect them, we must take the necessary action to change this, combat illegal poaching and wildlife trafficking, reverse the curve of biodiversity, and restore the world to life, healthier and more resilient.
On April 13, 2019, local time, the global parade of elephants, rhinos, lions and other endangered species was held in Nairobi, Kenya. Demonstrators held placards and chanted the slogan "No market, no trade".
Source: Xinhua News Agency, CCTV News Client, United Nations, WWF, Visual China, The Paper