Pretty sad that the sole reason that these animals are threatened with extinction is because a bunch of idiots think it's horn has magical properties.
http://earthfirstnews.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/western-black-rhino-declared-extinct/
http://earthfirstnews.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/western-black-rhino-declared-extinct/
The black rhino had not been seen in West Africa since 2006, and had been on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species since then.
In addition to lack of protection, poaching plays a major factor in the dwindling rhinoceros population. The World Wildlife Fund said that what is believed to be the last remaining Javan rhino in Vietnam was killed by poachers in 2010; it had been found dead with a bullet in its leg and its horn removed. Though other Javan rhinos probably live elsewhere, that species is expected to face extinction next, if the situation does not change.
“The issue seems to be that every time there’s a clampdown in one area, another situation emerges,” said Dr. Jo Shaw, a rhino expert for the World Wildlife Fund. And the situation is just as dire for rhinos in South Africa as they are elsewhere: in 2012 alone, 668 rhinos were killed by poachers. 232 have been killed so far this year. Unfortunately, Shaw concluded, “the patterns indicate that, this year, it will be over 800.”