h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I read in the news today that there are no more wild Black Rhinos in West Africa. Not long ago I read in the new that there are no Javan rhinos left in the wild outside Java. There are other populations of both these types of rhino but it saddens me to read of their decline, largely due to the activities of poachers in many areas.

My own encounter with wild rhinos was nearly 20 years ago now, but the memory stands among my wildlife highlights. I was travelling through Nepal and staying in a lodge that organised guided walks on elephant back and on foot. I booked myself a walk with a guide and he took me off for a memorable afternoon. He talked to me as we walked, clearly delighting in his job and knowledgable about the local wildlife and habitats. At one point he had me climb a tree - I forget why now but it was fun at the time. After a while he thought he could see signs of a rhino having passed nearby and led me through the trees to a path he expected it to cross. We waited there and then suddenly there was a large animal trotting across the path maybe 20 metres in front of us, with a smaller version of the same right behind it. What a thrilling sight, not one rhino but a mother and her calf - each looking like something straight out of a prehistoric picture book, a link with times long past.

According to the International Rhino Foundation there are currently around 2850 Indian rhinos and this is considered a recovering population. At one time last century it is thought there were only 200 left. Imagine that, my casual encounter would have shown me 1% of the total population in those days. This population may be increasing now but only with strict security controls can this recovery continue. For those rhino populations now being declared extinct, increased security efforts could not protect them. How sad to see them go, and to lose them for nothing more meaningful than human greed.