Desperate times call for desperate measures when it comes to ensuring a future for Northern White Rhinos, wrote Thomas Page:

• There are three Northern White Rhinos left in the world – two females, one male.
• The one male seems to have given up on his species – he has been reluctant to procreate.
• And so he joined Tinder.
• It is part of a publicity stunt to raise the $10 million needed for invitro fertilization, to preserve the line of rhinos.
• His Tinder profile includes the statement “I don’t mean to be too forward, but the fate of my species literally depends on me” – those that swipe right can then donate.
• His general disinterest in procreation seems to appeal to the Tinder crowd. So many people swiped right on his profile that the donation website crashed soon after he made his Tinder debut.

Read more on CNN.

You can donate to the project here.

You can find the rest of Centives’ coverage on rhinos here.

Humanity has explored various strategies to save rhinos from extinction – anything from drone monitoring to straight up poisoning them. Karin Brulliard writes that soon Rhino refugees might arrive on the shores of Australia:

• Rhinos have long been transported from poacher-heavy South Africa to safer places in Botswana, and to global zoos.
• Now the governments of Australia and South Africa have come to an initial agreement, which would see the land down under host a colony of 80 rhinos.
• The person responsible for the initiative calls it an “insurance population” in case global anti-poaching efforts fail.
• Scientists seem to agree that Rhinos could thrive in Australia’s environment.
• The rhinos will be flown out on nonstop flights, and the entire initiative is expected to cost $70,000 a rhino.

Read more here.

Source: The Washington Post

Via: Marginal Revolution

Jared Goyette and Bobby Bascomb reported on an audacious new plan to save the rhinos: poison them.

• The low number of living rhinos means that they’re expensive for zoos and reserves. Each one can cost over $20,000.
• But poachers can get $200,000 for their horns.
• To protect their investments zoos buy insurance – costing around $700 a year per rhino – against poaching.
• In order to secure this insurance one company requires that the Rhinos horns be poisoned.
• By injecting poison deep into the horn of the rhino, anybody who later ingests it after it is poached will fall violently ill.
• The hope is that if enough of the market becomes worried about poisoning, demand for rhino horns will drop.
• There are enough rhinos that it’s not possible to poison all their horns – but if a majority are that should be enough to dissuade buyers.
• In order to spread this fear, the injection of poison into rhino horns is usually done in public with a large audience, in order to disseminate the message.
• As the horns grow quickly, the poison has to be re-injected into the horns every four years.

Read about those behind the idea, its effectiveness, why the South African government doesn’t really believe in it, and more over here.

Source: PRI

Via: Marginal Revolution

We might see Rhinos go extinct in our lifetimes write David Randall and Jonathan Owen. Highlights of their report include:

• Rhinos could go extinct as soon as 2025.
• This is because Rhino poaching has sharply increased. In 2007 13 Rhinos were killed. In 2012 the world is on track to see 600 Rhinos killed.
• There could be as few as 11,000 Rhinos left in the world.
• The poaching is happening because of the high demand for Rhino horns for Chinese medicine and jewelry.
• The price of Rhino horn is £40,000 a kilo – more than gold.
• Countries have been using automated drones and sonar devices to detect poachers.

To read more about the role that arms and humans trafficking plays in the problem, the elephants that are also being killed, and why a military solution might be the only option, click here.

Source: The Independent