IUCN releases rhino statistics (Africa)

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has released some interesting (African) rhino statistics in a recent press release. A sum up:

• number of Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) in Africa: 5,055
• number of  White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) in Africa: 20,405
• number of rhinos poached in Africa 2012: 754
• number of rhinos poached in South Africa 2012: 668
• number of rhinos poached in Africa since 2006: nearly 2,400
• increase of rhino poaching between 2011 and 2012: 43%
• loss of rhino population in 2012: 3%
• frequency of rhino killings so far in 2013: 1 in every 11hrs

Experts predict that if poaching continues to increase at this rate, rhino populations could start to decline in less than two years’ time.

The IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organisation, with more than 1,000 government and NGO members and almost 11,000 volunteer experts in some 160 countries. IUCN's work is supported by over 1,000 staff in 60 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world. The organisation publishes the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, which assesses the conservation status of species.