Zimbabwe Plans to Dehorn Its 800 Rhinos to Thwart Poachers
A northern white rhino female.
Photographer: Nichole Sobecki for The Washington Post via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Zimbabwe plans to dehorn its 800 rhinos to thwart poachers who illegally killed more than 5 percent of the population of the animals in neighboring South Africa last year.
South Africa has the world’s biggest rhino population with about 20,000 of the endangered animals and most of those are of the white variety. Zimbabwe predominantly has black rhinos, which are smaller and rarer as the World Wildlife Population estimates their global number in the wild at about 4,800. Both varieties are targeted for their horns, which some people in East Asia believe cure cancer and boost virility.