To mark World Rhino Day on Sept. 22, we look back at some of Mongabay’s rhino reporting from this year.
All five rhino species face threats
The Sumatran (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) and Javan rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus), both native to Indonesia, are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. The greater one-horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) in India and Nepal is classified as vulnerable. Meanwhile, the black rhino (Diceros bicornis) in Africa is considered critically endangered, and the white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) is near threatened.
As Mongabay’s Spoorthy Raman reported earlier this month, a recent assessment from wildlife trade watchdog TRAFFIC and the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, found that white, Javan and Sumatran rhinos continue to decline due to poaching, climate change, habitat loss and population fragmentation. However, black and greater one-horned rhino populations have experienced modest growth.
Rhino horn trafficking busts
In January 2025, South African courts handed back-to-back jail terms to poachers for crimes against rhinos including poaching, illegal hunting and trespassing, Raman reported. Two poachers received 22-year sentences, another got four years for conspiracy, and in a separate case, a man was sentenced to 12 years for offenses dating back to 2016.
“We hope that the sentences will serve as a deterrence to others who might consider emulating the actions of the accused persons,” said Zeph Mkhwanazi of the Mpumalanga provincial police.
Seven months later, in August, South African authorities arrested six people on charges of trafficking rhino horn internationally. Among them is John Hume, a controversial rhino breeder and former owner of the world’s largest rhino farm, located in South Africa. Hume and the others are accused of racketeering, theft and money laundering, Raman reported. Domestic sale of rhino horn is legal in South Africa, but its international trade is banned. Conservationists say this patchwork system of legality makes regulation difficult.
“These arrests mark a critical juncture in tackling the organized crime networks driving illegal rhino horn trade and highlight the challenges in regulating horn trade,” said Cathy Dean of Save the Rhino International.
Rewilding and dehorning
In June, contributor Graeme Green reported that 70 southern white rhinos from Hume’s former breeding farm were moved to Rwanda’s Akagera National Park. It was the first international translocation of rhinos from this captive population of 2,000, all meant to be rewilded.
To protect rhinos, conservationists are also turning to dehorning them. Rhino horns, made of keratin, the same material as human fingernails, are incorrectly believed to have medicinal properties in some Asian cultures. While the horn can be painlessly trimmed in much the same way as trimming nails, rhinos have to be tranquilized for the procedure, which some individuals don’t tolerate well. Despite the risks, a study found dehorning can be effective: reserves in the Greater Kruger ecosystem that adopted the practice had a 78% reduction in poaching, contributor Dann Okoth reported.
Banner image: A dehorned white rhino with her calf. Image courtesy of Tim Kuiper.
This story first appeared on Mongabay
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