Creature Feature: Rhinoceros

Good evening everyone! I have decided to write a blog on rhinoceros in a different fashion: with drawings!! Why? Well, unfortunately, there are millions of graphic pictures you can find on the internet involving rhino poaching, some of which I have used in earlier blog posts. Tonight, I want to give the subject a more read-able face. As a warning: I am a horrible artist, and as you scroll down you will be exposed to the horror of my attempted drawings, but I figured it would be less painful than images of slaughtered animals and their orphaned young. So here we go, let's talk a bit about rhinos: 

If you want to learn more or donate, I've included quite a few links below. And as I've said before, you can help simply by saving energy. Whether its recycling, saving water, or consuming less, saving energy saves resources and habitat, which helps animals out in the wild. (For example, all of my drawings on this post were done on the back of used paper!)

World Wildlife Fund

United for Wildlife

Tusk Trust

25 Things you Didn't Know

The last male Northern White rhino

Rangers Protecting Animals from Poachers

I hope you enjoyed reading, and thank you so much for checking out my blog!! 

News Review: Ricky Gervais Against Trophy Hunting

Hello all! Quick post for today- just wanted to showcase what I think is the best use of fame. Actor/writer/producer Ricky Gervais has spoken out against trophy hunters, showing his support of wildlife conservation. 

The best example of a trophy hunter I could think of.
(Just keep in mind that many sport hunters are avid conservationists as well,
and I am in no way implying they all have Gaston's attitude.)

If you don't know already, trophy hunting is the hunting of wild animals primarily for sport and to claim a part of the slain animal as a memorial (aka a "trophy", such as horns, antlers, head). There has always been controversy surrounding trophy hunting, and its morality, especially when the animal's carcass is wasted and not eaten and you can read more about it here. In my personal opinion, I don't have a problem with trophy hunting as long as it's: 
a) done in a lawful manner, following the area's bag limits, seasons, ect. 
b) done as humanely as possible
c) done sustain-ably by only hunting animals whose populations are stable 

This is the Scimitar-Horned Oryx, now extinct in the wild due (in part) to trophy hunting. 

In my part of the US, the spotlight species to trophy hunt is the whitetail deer. They are overpopulated, and hunting them could be considered essential to the balance of the ecosystem, since it seems they are only preyed upon by automobiles. But out in Africa, trophy hunting takes on a much more harmful role. Big African animals are aesthetically prized, and for many hunters, these majestic animals only have a place in the world if dead on their wall. Now, if all African game was as overpopulated as the white-tail deer, I would personally have no problem with trophy hunting these animals. However, many African species are Threatened, Endangered, or even Critically Endangered. The species most sought after for the challenge they present are called the Big Five: African elephants, black rhinoceros, cape buffaloes, African lions, and leopards. Just out of those five, elephants and lions are endangered, and the black rhino is CRITICALLY endangered (look for my next blog on them). That means that conservationists are struggling to keep these species extant, and are desperately fighting against habitat loss and poaching to save the species. And trophy hunting is added to the list on top of that too! How completely ridiculous and unnecessary,- this is how we lose species people.  

African lions are powerful predators, but no match for human weapons, and they could be lost forever. 

The specific incident I wanted to tell you about is of a female hunter who posted images online of her with African animals she killed, such as giraffes and lions. Mr. Gervais commented on her pictures, expressing how much he disagreed with the morality of her hunting. You can read a great summary of the whole story right here, and I think it's definitely worth a look.

How could I not put this GIF here? 

I know I've been a bit slow getting new posts up, but please keep checking back- I have a few in the works! As always, thank you all so much for reading!