Rock Center   |  February 22, 2012

Last Stand: Rhino horn trade leads to spike in poaching

In South Africa, home to three quarters of the last remaining rhinos on the planet, a spike in rhino poaching is threatening the white rhino’s survival. Rising demand for the lucrative rhino horn in places such as Vietnam has led to a drastic increase in poaching. Traditional medicine systems in Asia promote the horn as having special healing powers. Gram for gram, rhino horn is more valuable on the black market in Asia than cocaine or gold. More than 400 rhinos were killed last year in South Africa, leaving conservationists, security forces and private game reserve owners scrambling to protect the animal. Harry Smith reports. 

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