Black rhinoceros  (Diceros bicornis)

Black rhinoceros have been poached to the brink of extinction due to the demand for their horn, both for use in Chinese traditional medicine and for traditional dagger handles in Yemen, the demand for which exploded in the 1970s due to the increased income of oil-rich Gulf States (7). It is estimated that between 1970 and 1992, around 96 percent of the black rhinoceros population was lost (8).

The population crash in the latter half of the 20th Century saw rhinoceros numbers plummet to a low of about 2,400 individuals (4). A variety of conservation approaches have been adopted, which have resulted in the stabilisation and partial recovery of populations in a number of countries. The most successful have involved the rigorous protection of rhinoceros in fenced sanctuaries, often in partnerships between the State and private sectors, or in intensely protected unfenced zones within larger areas (4). Dehorning has also been used in some countries to reduce the incentives to poach (4). In 1997, Yemen became a signatory of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), thus greatly reducing the demand for rhinoceros horn in the Middle East (7). By 2001, the continental black rhinoceros population had increased to 3,100, with populations in six of the eight range states increasing (4). Most individuals are conserved in heavily protected areas. The African Rhino Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) provides advice on the conservation of African rhinoceros, and has developed a detailed Action Plan, which provides extensive information and strategic direction for their conservation (4).