Latest news with #Cecil
Daily Maverick
an hour ago
- Daily Maverick
Ten years after Cecil the Lion's death, let's mourn human victims of wildlife attacks
Many people in the West know Cecil the Lion, but who can name an African killed by a lion or another species of dangerous megafauna in the decade since Cecil's demise? Our guess is not many, and that speaks volumes to the chasm that divides Africa and the affluent West on polarising wildlife issues such as trophy hunting that were unleashed by the Cecil saga. In the eyes of many Africans, affluent folk in the North often seem to have more empathy for the continent's wildlife than they do for its people, especially the rural poor who have to live in the terrifying shadow of large animal attack – a precarious existence that no middle-class resident of London, New York or Toronto would wish on their kith and kin. These cultural fault lines were brutally exposed when Cecil was felled by an American trophy hunter on 2 July 2015 outside Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park. Cecil's biography was well known to a handful of dedicated researchers, as he was the subject of a study by the University of Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU). Cecil had a satellite tracking collar that would emit signals every two hours, providing his GPS coordinates. According to WildCRU, Cecil was one of 65 lions killed by trophy hunters in the area from 1999 to 2015, 45 of which were equipped with radio collars. Two other satellite-collared lions with human nicknames were also killed by hunters in the same area in 2015. But Cecil was popular with visitors to Hwange and park officials, and Zimbabwe launched a probe into the hunt. This, in turn, launched the affair, aided and abetted by social media, into orbit. As the uproar in the West spread, US dentist Walter Palmer was eventually named as Cecil's killer, and that placed him in the crosshairs of public indignation. Jimmy Kimmel American talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, on 28 July 2015, made an impassioned commentary about the incident, choking back tears as he assured Africans that 'not all Americans are like this jack hole' — the jack hole in question being Palmer, whose dental practice was already being besieged by protesters. But in Africa, the response was pointedly different, and Kimmel's tears – over a lion – provoked incredulity. Asked by reporters for comment on the unfolding drama, Zimbabwe's acting information minister at the time, Prisca Mupfumira, snapped: 'What lion?' A few days after Kimmel's emotional outburst, Goodwell Nzou, a Zimbabwean doctoral student studying molecular medicine in the United States, had an opinion piece published in The New York Times titled, In Zimbabwe, We Don't Cry for Lions. American outrage over the incident, he wrote, had provoked '… the starkest cultural contradiction I'd experienced during my five years' studying in the United States'. 'Did all those Americans signing petitions understand that lions actually kill people? That all the talk about Cecil being 'beloved' or a 'local favourite' was media hype? Did Jimmy Kimmel choke up because Cecil was murdered or because he confused him with Simba from The Lion King?' Nzou asked. 'When I was nine years old, a solitary lion prowled villages near my home. After it killed a few chickens, some goats and finally a cow, we were warned to walk to school in groups and stop playing outside … The lion sucked the life out of the village: No one socialised by fires at night; no one dared stroll over to a neighbour's homestead. 'We Zimbabweans are left shaking our heads, wondering why Americans care more about African animals than about African people.' In response, Nzou received death threats, underscoring his point in a chilling and telling manner. The floodgates Jimmy Kimmel's Cecil outburst opened the floodgates. The global media jumped on the story, pushing trophy hunting to the front page. David Macdonald, then head of WildCRU, said that 'in terms of attracting global attention, it [Cecil] was the largest story in the history of wildlife conservation'. In the UK, pre-Cecil, trophy hunting had barely registered in print media. When it was covered, stories frequently highlighted the complexities of the issue. Discussion of the conservation benefits hunter revenue brought was commonplace, albeit often alongside a general sense of disapproval. After Cecil, the tone moved sharply towards condemnation. This coincided with increasing NGO and campaign-led calls for hunting bans, with Cecil as the inevitable focus. Calls to ban trophy hunting from nations like the UK ring hollow for many living in countries such as Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The hypocrisy is glaring. The UK has a thriving trophy hunting industry focused on deer, the heads of which adorn many a country pub, hotel and stately home. And these trophies can also be exported. Meanwhile, the UK is anything but a conservation success story, in stark contrast to the successes of African nations with trophy hunting as part of their conservation strategy. A 2017 study titled ' Relative efforts of countries to conserve world's megafauna ' should be required reading for those calling for bans on trophy hunting. The top five countries were Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania, Bhutan and Zimbabwe. Four of the top five are southern African nations. All four are major trophy hunting destinations. The UK was 123rd. Such facts are usually ignored by domestic politicians. Or, worse, spun to suggest the UK can manage wildlife responsibility while other nations cannot. Understandably, accusations of neocolonialism have become a fixture of public discourse on trophy hunting. Nonetheless, there remains considerable political traction to ban the import of hunting trophies from species that are, regardless of their actual status, 'close to extinction'. Evil trophy hunter, goes the media-friendly and seemingly intuitive story, are driving elephants, lions and other charismatic species to the brink. Just so they put a head on their wall. Trapped within this narrative, the easiest way to save wildlife seems obvious. Condemn the cruel and senseless practice of trophy hunting to the dustbin of history. It is precisely this thinking that has led to proposed bans, in various stages of legislative development, in the UK, numerous countries in Europe, Australia and the US. Such global political will is backed by assumptions of popularity. Misinformation and naivety But what seems like a quick and easy conservation and political win is shot through with misinformation and naivety. In the Second Reading of a failed UK-based Bill to ban trophy imports at the end of 2022, analysis by a team of scientists led by Oxford University indicated that around three-quarters of verifiable statements made by MPs speaking in support of the Bill were demonstrably false. For more than a third of those MPs, every verifiable statement they made was false. What is more, the public is far from overwhelmingly supportive, as is usually claimed. One of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's specialist groups, Sustainable Use and Livelihoods commissioned a survey of the UK public on the topic and found that, if a ban were to increase overall threats to wildlife conservation (as is very likely to be the case), only 42% supported them, and only 39% supported bans if they negatively affected marginalised communities (which they would). The idea that more than 80% of the UK public supports bans is based on a highly leading, flawed survey undertaken by the NGO Ban Trophy Hunting. Politicians would do well to actually read such surveys – they might then realise how they are being played. Ban Trophy Hunting – and several other NGOs – know that Cecil remains a gold mine. Prominent on its site is a red headline – 'REMEMBER CECIL' – clearly displayed as the 10th anniversary of his death looms – and below, there is a tab to donate. Cecil has been dead for a decade, but the vultures are still circling the memory of his carcass. Revealingly, there is no similar site asking people to remember Africans killed by big animals. Trophy hunting vs extinction threat Trophy hunting is a complex aspect of conservation, and nowhere more so than in southern Africa, where much of the northern hemisphere's disapproval, and in many cases disgust, is directed. While unregulated or poorly managed hunting can lead to local declines, a recent analysis found that there were no species for which trophy hunting was considered a threat. The same analysis found that for a number of species, including black rhino and lion, regulated hunting provides clear conservation benefits by producing revenue and incentivising communities to live alongside wildlife that may pose a threat to them and their livestock. If you track the spoor of the scientific literature, there are no objective, peer-reviewed articles in any reputable journal that we are aware of that make a direct link between trophy hunting and the threat of extinction. 'Studies' that make this link are usually commissioned by animal rights organisations with a transparent agenda. When science and facts are not on your side, raw emotion works. Conservation without money is just conversation. Lions and elephants are irresistible to photo tourists, but a very different prospect to live alongside. Without providing real incentives to communities and respecting their rights to a sustainable livelihood without reliance on the whims of overseas aid, habitat is lost and wildlife suffers. Safari tourism may be a thriving business post-pandemic, but Africa is vast and the landscape mixed. For every Serengeti migration honeypot, there are thousands of square miles of featureless bush, unsuitable for those on a one-week trip of a lifetime, anxious to tick off the Big Five before sundowners. In many such areas, hunting remains a vital lifeline for people and habitat. In response to calls for bans, more than 130 scientists and conservationists signed a joint letter to the journal Science, outlining why 'trophy hunting bans imperil biodiversity'. Community leaders from across southern Africa have written open letters to UK politicians calling on them to stop legislation that will harm conservation efforts and community livelihoods. The ghost of Cecil, it seems, roars far louder than the stark reality of real-world conservation challenges. The human victims We have been unable to find comprehensive, up-to-date data on the number of humans killed in Africa in attacks by big, dangerous animals in the decade since Cecil died, but it is safe to say that it numbers in the thousands. In Zimbabwe, the national parks organisation Zimparks recently said that in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, human fatalities from such attacks rose 20% to 18 compared with the same period in the previous year. It also said its data showed that over the past five years, 300 people had been killed in wildlife encounters – an average of 60 a year. And that is just a five-year timeframe restricted to Zimbabwe. These victims are often – unlike Cecil – faceless and nameless outside of their rural communities, where they have friends and family who grieve their loss and live in fear of the next attack. But outside their close circle, it is as if such horrifying incidents are simply the natural order of things in Africa, with Africans themselves simply the extras on the set of some Tarzan movie. The rural Africans who have to live alongside dangerous megafauna rank among the poorest of the poor, and their poverty is both a cause and effect of this precarious existence – a terrifying socioeconomic realm that can be described as living below the faunal poverty line. This state of affairs can also be usefully viewed through the prism of inequality. The rural poor in Africa are expected to share space with potentially menacing megafauna, a scenario that no middle-class suburbanite – including those who see red over trophy hunting – would tolerate. This is one of the many ways in which poverty makes you prey. Among the thousands of human victims in Africa since Cecil was felled, spare a thought for 27-year-old Josephi Kapalamula of Malawi and his family. Josephi was among the first of 10 victims to date killed by elephants in the wake of an ill-conceived translocation of 263 of the animals to Kasungu National Park in Malawi from Liwonde National Park in the country's south in June and July of 2022. This has transformed the landscape around the park in Malawi and neighbouring Zambia into one of fear and loathing for the subsistence farmers who toil there. Josephi's wife, Elphina, was pregnant when he was killed by elephants in July 2022. When Ed spoke to her in June 2024, her 17-month-old son, Success, was strapped to her back, a child who will never meet his father. 'My husband heard that there were elephants, so he went to see them. The elephants charged and trampled him,' she said. Instead of mourning the animals killed by trophy hunters – which in many ways owe their existence, like it or not, to the hunting industry – we would suggest tears should instead be shed for Josephi, his widow Elphina and their son, Success. Perhaps a movement is required to address human/wildlife conflict in all of its complexities – for the greater good of both people and animals. DM
The National
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
All aboard magical canoe that carries voices of land and loss
Canadian First Nations elder Cecil Paul's canoe is, of course, a metaphorical one, evocatively described in his seminal Stories From The Magic Canoe Of Wa'xaid. Cecil cautions before we set out from Kitamaat in British Columbia: 'The currents against it are very strong, but I believe we can reach that destination, and this is the reason for our survival.' Cecil's own survival – and his inspiring fortitude and forgiveness – verges on the miraculous. Born in the Kitlope, he was ripped from his parents and community in an attempt to 'Canadianise' him. Under a Canadian apartheid, he was imprisoned for sitting in a theatre seat not designated for 'Indians'. Battles with alcoholism and other demons descended, before Cecil found redemption in the battle he inspired to save the Kitlope – which he described as 'the largest unlogged temperate rainforest in the world' – from development. His canoe sent ripples around the world. READ MORE: Scottish ice cream parlour known for its 'Italian craftsmanship' among UK's best My journey with Cecil begins by the Crab River. Here the MV Swell, our expedition boutique small cruise ship, crosses from traditional Haisla territory into the Xenaksiala lands where Cecil was born. Maple Leaf Adventures ( are deeply sensitive and respectful with First Nations culture, our onboard naturalist Ethan Browne performing a small ceremony as we enter. Canadian Ethan explains, 'The special place we are going to is no doubt a beautiful part of British Columbia, but it really only comes alive in the cultural context of the First Nations, who have called this place home since time immemorial.' I think I'm ready for the Kitlope, but no-one really is. I finish Cecil's book as we overnight at the mouth of the river. I wasn't ready for how triggering it is. His descriptions of being hit by teachers for speaking his native tongue echo with my schooling when I was slapped with a ruler for speaking Scots. Also pinging my synapses is the familiarity of the vast, arresting beauty of the Kitlope. This elemental landscape of vaulting mountains, tree-shrouded emerald slopes and cobalt waters transcends Sir David Attenborough's purring in a BBC documentary. It also looks a lot like Scotland's Great Glen. The similarities in the struggles of those who lived here before the British Empire descended are even more striking. Tales of people being torn from their homes and families devastated are all too familiar to a Scot. The arduous struggles to retain language, culture and a semblance of dignity painfully so. I wake early to finish Cecil's book on deck as a bald eagle fights his own battles with a dozen haranguing gulls in a corner of Canada alive with flora and fauna. Then we are off, 11 passengers and six crew. Half of the crew have never been up this ultra-remote river. All aboard feel privileged to be here as we leave the cocoon of our luxurious ship to forge upriver through currents, logs and ghosts on a brace of small RIBs. And we all fear we might not make the lake as the river becomes shallower and shallower. The journey is a testing one for the crew battling the shallows and currents, but spectacular too. The hills close in more and more as we feel smaller and smaller. Then we sight a local, the beloved animal the First Nations peoples see as a guardian of the forest. Bears occupy the foundation rung of the replica G'psgolox totem pole we see on the left bank of the river, supporting everything else. Cecil fought hard to have the original totem pole returned from Sweden. It looks like we won't make the lake, though, as the water level plunges below two feet. Perilous for a propeller. But then, just as the rain eases, six hours after setting off from the mouth of the river, what Cecil called 'the theatre' unfurls in all its glory. Imagine Loch Ness with no villages, no houses and no hulking electricity pylons. Kitlope Lake proves as magical as the canoe that has brought us here. We raft up together in the cobalt waters of this breathtaking natural amphitheatre. Ethan reads from the book about bathing your eyes and ears in the water so that you may see life afresh, becoming kinder to others on your unique life journey. We share the experience of cleansing in the cool water, then reflect in the Kitlope's deafening silence. Cecil felt the Kitlope's raw natural power – 'Our people say that you will not leave that place unchanged … something touches you.' It does. I head downstream with a greater respect and deeper knowledge of the First Nations people and of the beauty of this wild and wildly beautiful corner of British Columbia. I also hear the distant ghosts of the Scottish Highlands blowing in the Kitlope breeze. And I think of people who have been stripped of their lands – and dignity – the world over.
Evening Standard
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Evening Standard
Cecil Beaton's family archive on show at intimate exhibition on the Hawarden Estate
For the Beaton obsessed – which such intimate access to this treasure trove could well make you – there's the opportunity to spend hours poring over the accumulated objects: an album of Cecil's favourite photos of Nancy, given to her husband as a wedding present; original sketches for My Fair Lady; paintings…. But there's much else to look at besides in the West End and on the wider estate and village.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
America's Car-Mart Inc (CRMT) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: A Remarkable Financial ...
Net Income: Improved from a net loss of $31.4 million in the prior year to $17.9 million in net income, an improvement of over $49 million. Revenue Growth: Incremental revenue increased by 1.5% in the fourth quarter compared to the prior year's quarter. Unit Sales Volume: Increased by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Interest Income: Increased by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Full Year Unit Sales: Sold 57,022 units, down 1.7% year over year. Gross Margin: Fourth quarter gross margin was 36.4%, up from 35.5% a year ago; full fiscal year gross margin was 36.7%, a 200 basis point improvement. Net Charge-Offs: Improved to 6.9% of average finance receivables for the quarter, compared to 7.3% in the prior year quarter. Allowance for Credit Losses: Reduced by $10.3 million due to enhancements in the Cecil allowance methodology. SG&A Expenses: Increased by $3.8 million or 8.6%, driven by investments in technology, talent, and strategic acquisitions. Interest Expense: Decreased by $388,000 or 2.2%. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 12 Warning Signs with CRMT. Release Date: June 12, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. America's Car-Mart Inc (NASDAQ:CRMT) reported a significant financial turnaround, moving from a net loss of $31.4 million in the prior year to generating $17.9 million in net income this year, an improvement of more than $49 million. The company successfully executed its 7th term securitization, issuing $216 million in asset-backed notes with a favorable weighted average coupon of 6.27%, reflecting growing investor confidence. The introduction of a new 7 by 7 scorecard and risk-based pricing model is expected to improve credit performance and enable smarter growth. The relaunch of the 'Pay Your Way' platform, which includes digital payment options like Apple Pay and Google Pay, aims to enhance customer convenience and satisfaction. Gross margin improved to 36.4% in Q4, up from 35.5% a year ago, driven by stronger performance in the wholesale channel and strategic initiatives. SGNA expenses increased by $3.8 million or 8.6%, primarily due to investments in technology, talent, and strategic acquisitions, impacting short-term cost efficiency. The used car market remains dynamic with a tighter supply environment, posing challenges for procurement and inventory management. Despite improvements, the allowance for credit losses remains high at 23.25% of finance receivables, indicating ongoing credit risk. The company faces pressure from tariffs, which have led to a $300 increase in procurement costs per unit, affecting overall cost management. Interest expense decreased only slightly by $388,000 or 2.2%, indicating limited immediate relief from improved securitization rates. Q: How have tariffs and higher used car prices affected America's Car-Mart's business, and have there been any changes in consumer behavior? A: Douglas Campbell, President and CEO, explained that the impact of tariffs and higher used car prices began to manifest in April, towards the end of the quarter. The company has seen a $300 increase in procurement costs per unit, which is manageable. There hasn't been a significant pull forward of sales due to these factors. The company is focused on sustainable growth and has implemented risk-based pricing to navigate potential headwinds. Q: Can you provide an update on the operational upgrades and partnerships, and how they might affect gross profit margins and sales per store? A: Douglas Campbell highlighted that gross profit margins have improved, with a 90 basis point increase in the quarter and a 200 basis point improvement year-over-year. The company is focused on optimizing products and leveraging partnerships to enhance profitability. The relaunch of the Pay Your Way campaign is expected to improve collections and reduce friction in customer payments. Q: How will the rollout of risk-based pricing impact the company's financials, particularly yields and margins? A: Douglas Campbell noted that risk-based pricing has been implemented across all stores, with a focus on improving returns on lower-ranked customers and offering better terms to higher-quality customers. This approach is expected to enhance both credit performance and gross margins by attracting higher-quality customers and optimizing inventory. Q: What is the condition of America's Car-Mart's low-end consumers, and how are they coping with higher rates? A: Douglas Campbell stated that the company's low-end consumers are accustomed to navigating challenging economic conditions. There are no significant signs of distress, and demand remains strong. The company's interest rates remain competitive, and there has been no breakage in conversion rates, indicating that consumers still find value in America's Car-Mart's offerings. Q: How does the success in capital markets and ABS issuance impact America's Car-Mart's growth prospects? A: Jonathan Collins, CFO, explained that the company is pleased with its recent securitization efforts, which have tightened spreads and improved capital structure. The company is exploring additional capital market tools, such as warehouse loans, to further enhance its financial flexibility and support growth. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Toronto Sun
06-06-2025
- General
- Toronto Sun
To save rhinos, conservationists are removing their horns: 'Is a rhino still a rhino without its horns?'
Dehorning was much more cost-effective than other poacher deterrent methods such as 24/7 patrols Published Jun 06, 2025 • 6 minute read Pauline and her calf Cecil, endangered black rhinos, right before they were set free to roam a fenced area in a sanctuary at Zinave National Park, Mozambique, on Aug. 26, 2022. Photo by Salwan Georges / The Washington Post Conservationists are increasingly turning to a method of protecting the world's diminished population of rhinoceroses: Removing their horns before poachers can get their hands on them. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account A study published Thursday in the journal Science found that dehorning – a conservation practice that involves sedating the often multi-ton animals, covering their eyes and ears, and trimming their horns, which do not have nerves and grow back in a few years – reduced poaching by 78 percent over a seven-year period in eight reserves across 11 studied in South Africa, home to most of Africa's rhinos. Whereas costly surveillance and law enforcement often prove futile in a vast, tangled landscape of criminal syndicates, corruption and wealth inequality around South African reserves, conservationists and researchers say, dehorning appears to be more impactful – but should remain a measure of last resort rather than a long-term solution. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The researchers are far from blind to the implications of removing the most iconic body part of a charismatic species that has captured global interest for generations. 'Is a rhino still a rhino without its horns?' asked Timothy Kuiper, the study's lead author, a senior lecturer in conservation and statistics and South Africa's Nelson Mandela University. 'The horns are such a distinctive part of its anatomy, it's a beautiful part of its body,' he said. 'It's wonderful to see a rhino with its horn.' Kuiper called dehorning 'a necessary evil.' Vanessa Duthé, an ecologist who has studied biological effects of dehorning, called it a 'pragmatic, and, at times, essential tool' that removes the assets criminals are going for in high-risk poaching areas. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A conservationist saws off the horns of one of the endangered black rhinos inside a boma at the Manketti game reserve in Lephalale, South Africa, on Aug. 22, 2022. Photo by Salwan Georges / The Washington Post There are fewer than 28,000 rhinos in the world, a steep drop from 500,000 at the start of the 20th century, according to the International Rhino Foundation, a conservation group. The majority are from two species in Africa: Black rhinos are critically endangered (6,500 left), and white rhinos are considered near threatened (16,800), according to the World Wildlife Fund. Three other species live in Asia, with two kinds – the Javan and Sumatran rhino – each having fewer than 50 animals left alive. African rhinos are targeted by poachers who kill them to cut off their horns, which are displayed as a status trophy or consumed as an element of traditional Chinese medicine. A kilogram of rhino horn at its peak went for $65,000. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. An estimated 12,713 rhinos have been poached in Africa since 2006, the majority in South Africa, according to conservation charity Save the Rhino. Five hundred and eighty-six African rhinos were poached in 2023, the International Rhino Foundation found. More than 300 of those were killed in just one state-run park. 'You can catch a poacher and there's three standing in line to take his place,' said another researcher behind the study, Rhino Recovery Fund Director Markus Hofmeyr. Endangered black rhinos walk through their bomas at the Manketti reserve in Lephalale, South Africa, on August 22, 2022. Photo by Salwan Georges / The Washington Post Dehorning was the only practical anti-poaching intervention for which the researchers found strong evidence of effectiveness, and it is much more cost-effective than other methods such as 24/7 patrols. Over the seven-year study period, the reserves dehorned 2,284 rhinos. Reducing poacher incentives through dehorning achieved 'large and abrupt' reductions in kills, while using just over 1 percent of the reserves' $74 million anti-poaching budget, the study found. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The researchers estimated a '13% risk of an individual horned rhino being poached in a particular year compared with a 0.6% poaching risk for a dehorned rhino.' Between 70 and 134 rhinos were saved from poaching in the 12 months after dehorning, the study said. The median cost to save a rhino was $7,133 per rhino. Dehorning itself 'is quite an operation, logistically,' Kuiper said. But it doesn't include pain for the rhino, researchers say – their horns are made mostly of keratin, the same material as human fingernails. Usually, a helicopter is involved, to locate the rhino. A team is deployed, often driving off-road, to reach the animal. A qualified veterinarian and a team immobilize the rhino with drugs. The horn is removed with a chain saw, Kuiper said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Once off, the horns are held in stockpiles in secure, secret locations, according to researchers. A member of the anti-poaching security unit watches over as Paulina, an endangered black rhino stands in its Boma at the Manketti game reserve, in Lephalale, South Africa, on Aug. 22, 2022. Photo by Salwan Georges / The Washington Post There is ongoing debate about legalizing the international rhino horn trade. Some argue that harvesting horns at regular intervals might satisfy demand while contributing to rhino protection funds. Others say it could increase poaching and demand – a grave risk with so few rhinos left. Dehorning 'is not a silver bullet,' Kuiper said. Some poachers have even killed dehorned rhinos for their regrowing stumps. Veterinarians can only cut up to the growth plate, which has nerves and blood vessels, leaving 5 to 15 centimeters of horn. Over two years, the researchers recorded the poaching of more than 100 previously dehorned rhinos – some just weeks after the procedure, Kuiper said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Horn demand, including for trophies and use in traditional medicine, along with poverty and the presence of criminal gangs, drives poaching. But researchers add that entrenched corruption – including between police, reserve staff and courts – has skewed the cost-benefit analysis for criminal poachers. There are cases of repeat offenders, too. 'It's a kind of perfect storm of criminal syndicates to come in and recruit people who are vulnerable socioeconomically,' Kuiper said. In remarks last month, South Africa's forestry minister, Dion George, praised the efforts of law enforcement. 'Our rangers are the true heroes in this fight, risking their lives daily to protect our rhinos,' he said. George has also praised the potential of dehorning programs, in combination with other methods of protection. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The practice of dehorning, initially tried decades ago, is growing. Across southern and eastern Africa, you can see more and more rhinos 'in a dehorned state,' Kuiper said. Rhinos can survive and breed without their horns, but at least some researchers have raised questions about behavioral effects. A 2023 study found that dehorned black rhinos decrease their home ranges. The theory is that dehorned rhinos might be less bold without them. Duthé, that study's lead researcher, said by email that while there are measurable changes in movement and social patterns, current evidence shows no impact on population growth rates. The known effects are 'generally considered acceptable when weighed against the significant reduction in poaching,' she said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'A live rhino without a horn, because you've cut it off, is a lot better than a dead rhino without a horn,' said Nina Fascione, IRF's executive director. The IRF supports dehorning, but not as a stand-alone, end-all technique. 'You can't just dehorn a rhino and then think they're safe, because the poachers will go after it even for a little nub of a horn,' Fascione said. Rhinos have probably changed little for at least the past million years, Hofmeyr said. By sheer size and strength, they have been able to successfully breed and survive. That they are an evolutionary marvel is also a liability. They have not shown an ability to rapidly adapt to human threats – such as how elephants know not to return to a watering hole where one of the group has been shot, he said. 'You can kill every last rhino in the landscape if you know … where they drink, the way they walk' – and how to evade law enforcement, Hofmeyr said. 'You can shoot the rhinos at the same waterhole until the very last one is gone.' It's a 'symbol of us as a human species,' he said, that we cannot take responsibility for 'keeping something alive that has actually been much more successful than we've ever been' at surviving on our own. 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