Save the Rhino
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Save the Rhino International (SRI), a UK-based
conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...
charity, is
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
's largest single-species
rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
charity, in terms of funds raised and grants made, and in terms of profile and positioning. It began fundraising for in situ rhino conservation projects in 1992 and was formally registered as a charity (number 1035072) in 1994. One of SRI's founder patrons was the British writer and humorist Douglas Adams, who also was known to be a conservation movement enthusiast.


Mission, aims and objectives

Save the Rhino International works to conserve viable populations of Critically endangered
rhinos A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
. They recognise that the future of wildlife is inextricably linked to the communities that share its
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
. By funding field projects and through education, the goal of Save the Rhino is to deliver material, long-lasting and widespread benefits to rhinos and other
endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...
, ecosystems, and the people living in these areas. The aims of Save the Rhino are: * To increase the number of rhinos in genetically viable populations in the wild * To enhance the integrity of ecosystems * To ensure that local communities benefit from conservation activities NB: Genetically viable populations are generally taken to mean those with a minimum of 20 individuals. In some areas, smaller populations have been known to breed successfully, although it is not known what the impact is on the long-term genetic diversity of such a population. For rhino populations to qualify as being "wild", three conditions must be satisfied: *They must be free-ranging within an area large enough to sustain a breeding group *The area in question must consist of natural rhino habitat *They must survive by feeding off natural vegetation in the area (i.e., without human intervention) Primary objectives of Save the Rhino: * To provide financial support for on site projects focused on all five of the rhinoceros species * To encourage and enable the sharing of information, experience and skills between rhino programmes,
ex situ Svalbard GLOBAL SEED BANK, an ''ex situ'' conservation. ''Ex situ'' conservation literally means, "off-site conservation". It is the process of protecting an endangered species, variety or breed, of plant or animal outside its natural habitat; ...
and conservation organisations * To measure and improve the effectiveness of Save the Rhino's grant-making and charitable activities * To raise awareness of the need for rhino conservation and communicate the work of Save the Rhino


Grant-making activities

The funds SRI raises are used to support projects that address rhino conservation through a number of measures: *Community conservation programmes that develop
sustainable Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...
methods by which local communities can creatively manage
natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...
*Environmental education programmes that teach children and adults about the importance of preserving natural resources and address human-wildlife conflict issues *Anti-poaching and monitoring patrols, which detect and deter poachers and gather information about rhino ranges and numbers *
Translocations In genetics, chromosome translocation is a phenomenon that results in unusual rearrangement of chromosomes. This includes balanced and unbalanced translocation, with two main types: reciprocal-, and Robertsonian translocation. Reciprocal translo ...
, so that rhino from established populations can be reintroduced to former habitats *Research into the threats to rhino survival and alternatives to the use of rhino horn *Veterinary work, such as the implanting of transmitters into horns, or removal of snares


Approach

Save the Rhino: * Employs pragmatic approach focused on viable populations, and is not sentiment-driven * Supports the sustainable use of natural resources for the mutual benefit of wildlife, habitat and local communities * Supports the sustainable use of wildlife (i.e. culling, cropping and hunting) provided it is legal and the profits are ploughed back into conservation * Does not create or run their own projects in the field; instead, SRI works with rhino conservation projects that already exist and provides funding * Prefers to work with projects on a long-term basis, rather than making one-off or ad hoc grants * Believes in the value of partnership working with other in situ and ex situ
non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
s (NGOs) and conservation organisations


Trustees and patrons


Trustees

* Henry Chaplin * Christina Franco * Tim Holmes * Tom Kenyon-Slaney (chair) * George Stephenson (vice-chair) * Dave Stirling


Patrons

* Polly Adams *
Benedict Allen Benedict Colin Allen FRGS (born 1 March 1960) is an English writer, explorer, traveller and filmmaker known for his technique of immersion among indigenous peoples from whom he acquires survival skills for hazardous journeys through unfamiliar ...
* Clive Anderson * Louise Aspinall * Nick Baker *
Simon Barnes Simon Barnes is an English journalist. He was Chief Sports Writer of ''The Times'' until 2014, and wrote a wildlife opinion column in the Saturday edition of the same newspaper. He has written three novels. The son of Edward Barnes, a co-cre ...
* Mark Carwardine * Chloe Chick * Mark Coreth * Dina de Angelo * Robert Devereux * Ben Hoskyns-Abrahall * Angus Innes *destiny gilliam *
Francesco Nardelli Francesco Romano Nardelli (born 5 September 1953 in Rome, Italy, where he currently lives) is an Italian naturalist who has dedicated his life to the protection and conservation of endangered species. He is also the co-founder, with John Aspinall ...
*
Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...
* Julian Ozanne * Viscount Petersham * Mark Sainsbury * Robin Saunders * Alec Seccombe * Tira Shubart * James Sunley * Nick Tims * William Todd-Jones *
Jack Whitehall Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. He is known for starring as JP in the series ''Fresh Meat (TV series), Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016) and Alfie Wickers in the series ''Bad Educat ...


Founding patrons


Douglas Adams

Douglas Adams developed his deep-seated interest in wildlife conservation during a 1985 visit to Madagascar, which eventually resulted in a book ('' Last Chance to See'') about the plight of species facing extinction, co-authored by zoologist Mark Carwardine. In one of the chapters he and Mark visited
Garamba National Park Garamba National Park is a nearly national park in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is among Africa's oldest parks, and was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980 for its protection of critical habitat for norther ...
in the
Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, home to the last surviving northern white rhinos. It was when Douglas gave a talk at the
Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
about his attempts to catch sight of one of these elusive rhinos by standing on top of a termite mound that Dave Stirling, founding director of SRI, first approached him and asked him to become a patron. Douglas went on to accompany Dave and the rest of the SRI team on their inaugural Rhino Climb Kili expedition; a now yearly event that involves scaling
Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...
- the highest point on the African continent - with one member of the team dressed as a rhino at all times. Douglas took turns to wear the costume along with everybody else, and his enthusiasm for the project helped to motivate SRI to raise £100,000 to go towards community projects in the areas surrounding Kilimanjaro.


Michael Werikhe

Michael Werikhe, fondly known to many as "The Rhino Man," was raised in
Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
on Kenya's
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
coast. A lifelong protector of animals, Werikhe walked thousands of miles across several continents on his "Rhino Walks" to educate people around the world about the plight of the rhinoceros.


Campaigns


"Save the Rhinos", the EAZA Rhino Campaign 2005/6


Background

Supported by Save the Rhino International (SRI), EAZA has two major objectives; firstly to raise international awareness of the threats rhino face and to promote protection of these endangered animals and, secondly, to raise money which will directly support 13 selected rhino conservation projects in the wild in Asia and Africa. Some 125 million people visit zoos and aquariums in Europe annually.


Results

"Save the Rhinos" ended with an official closing session at the EAZA Annual Conference on 4 October 2006. A preliminary fundraising result of €515,842.81 was announced there, well exceeding the original target of €350,000. The final result was €660,000. In addition to the 13 EAZA-selected projects, Save the Rhino was able to make grants to several other projects and field programmes. Some of the beneficiaries have received continuous support ever since. The success of former EAZA Conservation Campaigns have led to an increase in interest of NGOs and zoos outside Europe to support, contribute to, or participate in them. North American zoos, for example, have joined EAZA in the Save the Rhinos Campaign.


Rhino Legends campaign 2015

In May 2015 Save the Rhino launched the Rhino Legends campaign, in collaboration with Altrincham-based organisation Dial2Donate. The two organisations combined thoughts and skills to develop a concept based upon the 20th birthday celebrations of the charity – thus, 'Rhino Legends'"Rhino Legends campaign"
Dial2Donate, 2015
was born. The campaign not only recognises the achievements and goals of the charity, it also upholds the plight of the creatures themselves. Rhino Legends is a year-long campaign which will see Dial2Donate contribute weekly to its development through relevant social media, web content and email advertising. From creating content to proofreading established material, Dial2Donate will continue to support Save the Rhino for the foreseeable future.


References


External links

*{{official website, http://www.savetherhino.org Animal charities based in the United Kingdom