FIRE: Fight to Inhibit Rhino Extinction

FIRE: Fight to Inhibit Rhino Extinction FIRE: Igniting UIUC campus awareness on the devastation poaching is having on rhino populations & assisting in small rhino recovery programs.

SUMMARY
There has been a 5000% increase in the slaughter of rhinoceros in Africa for their horns since 2007. Rhino poaching has reached a crisis point and if the killing continues at this rate, we could see rhino deaths overtaking births in 2016-2018, meaning rhinos could go extinct in the immediate future. The drastic increase in poaching is a result of a high demand of rhino horn for traditional Asian medicine, specifically in Vietnam and China, and for the traditional Yemenense dagger, the jambiya. In traditional medicine, the horn is ground into a fine powder to treat a number of illnesses from nosebleeds to cancer. Rhino horn is made up of keratin, the same material that’s found in hair and nails, and there is no scientific support for its medicinal properties. Ignorance will be the demise of the rhino; therefore, Fight to Inhibit Rhino Extinction (FIRE) was created to ignite awareness of this situation throughout the University of Illinois campus. The UofI is ranked #2 for international students, representing 22.8% of the total student population of which 72% are from East Asia, Africa and the Middle East, which provides a great opportunity to educate and set ablaze the spread of awareness back in their home countries where the poaching and purchasing of rhino horn is taking place. FIRE’s first initiative will be to raise funds to protect one of the last remaining populations of black rhino in Malawi at the Liwonde National Park. Raising $5000-$10,000 can go a long way in the survival of the handful of rhinos that remain. All of the funds will go directly to aid the treatment of rhino injured during poaching attempts, equip every rhino in Liwonde with VHF radio transmitters and receivers for monitoring purposes and to establish an anti-poaching team. This issue needs to be addressed urgently and currently there are very limited resources to support the protection of the remaining rhinos. Knowledge is power and the more we know, the more we care to save.

Please stand up for our elephants and sign the petition....they won't be here for much longer.
09/07/2016

Please stand up for our elephants and sign the petition....they won't be here for much longer.

Tell the United States to show global leadership and urge other countries to close their domestic ivory markets as the U.S. has.

07/09/2016
06/28/2016

A one-of-a-kind program that combines daily work with education to give students the opportunity to experience Africa easily & affordably!

Baby got back
06/06/2016

Baby got back

06/03/2016

This rhino had a big heart — on his horn!

05/18/2016

For the love of animals. Pass it on.

03/09/2016

The discovery of 34 poached rhino carcasses in Namibia has led the International Union for the Conservation of Nature to push up its estimated total of rhinos poached in 2015.

Your daily dose of adorable
01/27/2016

Your daily dose of adorable

Chester Zoo’s Eastern Black Rhino calf recently stomped out into the sunshine on his public debut. The male calf, whose birth was captured on CCTV cameras, was born January 16 and has been named Gabe.

The newcomer enjoyed his sunny debut alongside mum, Ema Elsa. Gabe is the third baby born at the zoo to his 13-year-old mum. Dad is 31-year-old Kifaru.

The Eastern Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis michaeli) is classified as “Critically Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the wild, there are less than 650 remaining across Africa.

Read the rest of the article and see VIDEO of the calf's birth on today's ZooBorns: http://bit.ly/1Pjw50h

01/18/2016

Rare moment of a black and white rhino side by side here on Lewa!

While the black rhino has a hooked lip for plucking browse, the white rhino's mouth is square and wide, much like a 'lawnmower', enabling it to graze.

White rhinos are also significantly bigger than their black cousins - adult males can weigh upto 2,500 kgs! Both species coexist successfully on Lewa, sharing the landscape with other wildlife.

Photo Credit: Batian Craig

12/29/2015

We asked photographer Ami Vitale to tell us about her top ten places to visit-and photograph.

12/23/2015

South Africa 'expels North Korea diplomat for illegal rhino horn trade' http://bbc.in/1YBzVCP

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