Africa’s Western Black Rhino Now Declared Extinct

by Jennifer Mishler November 10, 2011
Categories: Animals, Causes.
Photo: International Rhino Fund

Less than a month after Vietnam’s Javan rhinoceroses were declared extinct, another rhino species has perished. Africa’s Western Black Rhinoceros has officially been declared extinct.

According to One Green Planet, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has shared the tragic news along with the warning that two other subspecies are nearing extinction. Simon Stuart, head of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission said, ”Human beings are stewards of the earth and we are responsible for protecting the species that share our environment…In the case of both the western black and the northern white rhinos the situation could have had very different results if suggested conservation measures had been implemented.”

The IUCN’s Red List includes 61,900 endangered species of animals, and many are dangerously close to vanishing. IUCN’s Jean-Christophe Vie says, “The world is full of marvelous species that are rapidly moving towards becoming things of myth and legend.”

About Jennifer Mishler

Jennifer is an animal advocate and activist. She is a volunteer coordinator with The Girls Gone Green, a nonprofit organization advocating for animals rights, veganism, and environmentalism. She is also an Onshore Volunteer with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and a volunteer with CJ Acres Animal Rescue Farm, a nonprofit that rescues and rehabilitates farm animals. Along with writing for Ecorazzi, she writes about veganism and animal rights on her blog, A Dog's Eye View. She lives in Jacksonville, FL with her husband and their three animal friends. Follow Jennifer on Twitter: @jennygonevegan

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Elle

It doesn’t surprise me in the least that this species was ultimately shoved under the bus of extinction; it seems like the ignorant, greedy, masses of the world won’t stop until every last creature on the planet is wiped out. Disgusting. Correction, heartbreaking and disgusting.
gino

Animals were going extinct for millennia before man came onto the scene, could you imagine if every single species that ever came to be was still here? Talk about overpopulation and over crowding problems. There is a large group of people out there that like to wag their fingers at the rest of the human race as if we are a virus or pest that is causing every single extinction. What these enviro terrorists won’t tell you or acknowledge is that we are all animals of the natural world and we all belong to the earth and we all play a role in it whether it be the grim reaper or the savior. Sure 100 even 50 years ago we had no idea what we were doing to the planet and certain species. Today that is not the case and sure there are some unethical corporate giants out there still doing massive damage to some species but the situation is not as dire as the enviro terrorists want us to believe. There are millions of natural cycles on this earth global warming also being one of them, the enviro terrorists would have every man woman and child believe that they are somehow at fault for every single extinction on this planet. Fact is some if not most of the endangered species have been “outdated” and no longer hold a place on this planet that still wants them so through natural selection they are eliminated to make way for new evolutions and new creatures to form. Do not let these enviro terrorists bully you into feeling guilt for something you had nothing to do with.
- Julie
  
  Gino,
  
  Seriously? A black rhino has become “outdated”? And everything you just rattled off makes sense to you? What a small mind and world you must live in. These “enviro terrorists” you speak of…I’m sure you are referring to the poachers who are responsible for the rhino’s extinction! You better learn, and fast, how to work with nature because it’s the only thing keeping you alive. The black rhino becoming extinct is just the tip of the iceberg to an underlying problem that will have detrimental impacts on the human race. A planet full of humans only is a dying planet. I am all for natural selection, but we are wiping ourselves out by wiping out other inhabitants.
  
  I recommend several things for you to do over the next year:
  
  1. Research the progression of natural cycles compared to man’s impact and you’ll see there’s about a million years spread between the two “effects.”
  
  2. Find out how many species have become extinct pre-man and how many have become extinct post-man. The number will truly amaze you.
  
  3. Learn about the connections between life on this planet and how that impacts people, more specifically our survival.
  
  I’m sure by this time next year you’ll see things differently and begin to realize a species becoming extinct is not because they are “outdated.” This article should make humanity cringe; I don’t think you can thoughtfully grasp as to why just yet.