In news show that is dismaying even by the standards of 2018 , multiple outlets arereportingthat eight contraband rhinos are numb after an attempt to translocate them to a wildlife ballpark in southern Kenya last calendar month .
Black rhino are the third most endangered rhino species on Earth , with only 5,000 - 5,500 of the majestic creatures entrust , concord toSaveTheRhino . The International Union of the Conservation of Nature lists the species as “ critically endangered ” noting that itsnumbers have fallenmore than 97 percent since the sixties , mostly thanks to “ relentless hunting ” , an experience all rhino share .
The Guardianreportsthat last occur as the Kenya Wildlife Service was moving 14 black rhinos from the Nairobi and Lake Nakuru national parks near Kenya ’s capital to Tsavo East park in the Dixie . In a statement , Tourism Minister Najib Balala said that a preliminary investigationindicateseight rhinos pass after drinking salt - contaminated water at their new home .
Three other translocated rhinoceros appear to still be alert , while three more plotted translocations are on intermission .
The translocation of rhinoceros carries risks , accord to theWorld Wildlife Fund , which notes that it often involvesairliftingthe beast while keep them at rest with sedatives . But the Kenyan government has carry legion successful translocation in the past . As the Tourism Ministry ’s statement notes , 149 rhinoceros were translocated between 2005 and 2017 with just eight fatality .
Susie Ellis , executive director of the International Rhino Foundation , called the incident “ a conservation tragedy ” .
“ Translocations are always risky , there s ’s always a number of things that can go wrong , ” Ellis state Earther . “ But this level of loss is pretty much unprecedented . ”
Ellis cautioned that we wo n’t make out the full story until an ongoing necropsy and probe is completed . She say that if the rhinos did indeed die of salt toxic condition , “ it could have been avoid I ’m sure . ”
“ I ’ll tell you one thing , whatever happened wo n’t happen again , ” she tell .
Paula Kahumbu , a rhino conservationist with WildlifeDirect , enjoin the Guardian the public deserves an straightaway account .
“ Rhinos have died , ” Kahumbu said . “ We have to say it openly when it happens , not a hebdomad afterwards or a calendar month by and by . Something must have gone improper , and we want to know what it is . ”
Update 11:45 am : An early version of this tale alleged , based on AP reportage , that the deaths were the the result of ‘ neglectfulness ’ . That allegement was subsequently remove from the AP account and Earther has hit it as well .
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