Tiger Bone & Rhino Horn

Tiger Bone & Rhino Horn PDF Author: Richard Ellis
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1597269530
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
In parts of Korea and China, moon bears, black but for the crescent-shaped patch of white on their chests, are captured in the wild and brought to "bear farms" where they are imprisoned in squeeze cages, and a steel catheter is inserted into their gall bladders. The dripping bile is collected as a cure for ailments ranging from an upset stomach to skin burns. The bear may live as long as fifteen years in this state. Rhinos are being illegally poached for their horns, as are tigers for their bones, thought to improve virility. Booming economies and growing wealth in parts of Asia are increasing demand for these precious medicinals. Already endangered species are being sacrificed for temporary treatments for nausea and erectile dysfunction. Richard Ellis, one of the world's foremost experts in wildlife extinction, brings his alarm to the pages of Tiger Bone & Rhino Horn, in the hope that through an exposure of this drug trade, something can be done to save the animals most direly threatened. Trade in animal parts for traditional Chinese medicine is a leading cause of species endangerment in Asia, and poaching is increasing at an alarming rate. Most of traditional Chinese medicine relies on herbs and other plants, and is not a cause for concern. Ellis illuminates those aspects of traditional medicine, but as wildlife habitats are shrinking for the hunted large species, the situation is becoming ever more critical. One hundred years ago, there were probably 100,000 tigers in India, South China, Sumatra, Bali, Java, and the Russian Far East. The South Chinese, Caspian, Balinese, and Javan species are extinct. There are now fewer than 5,000 tigers in all of India, and the numbers are dropping fast. There are five species of rhinoceros--three in Asia and two in Africa--and all have been hunted to near extinction so their horns can be ground into powder, not for aphrodisiacs, as commonly thought, but for ailments ranging from arthritis to depression. In 1930, there were 80,000 black rhinos in Africa. Now there are fewer than 2,500. Tigers, bears, and rhinos are not the only animals pursued for the sake of alleviating human ills--the list includes musk deer, sharks, saiga antelope, seahorses, porcupines, monkeys, beavers, and sea lions--but the dwindling numbers of those rare species call us to attention. Ellis tells us what has been done successfully, and contemplates what can and must be done to save these animals or, sadly, our children will witness the extinction of tigers, rhinos, and moon bears in their lifetime.

Tiger Bone & Rhino Horn

Tiger Bone & Rhino Horn PDF Author: Richard Ellis
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1597269530
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 312

Get Book Here

Book Description
In parts of Korea and China, moon bears, black but for the crescent-shaped patch of white on their chests, are captured in the wild and brought to "bear farms" where they are imprisoned in squeeze cages, and a steel catheter is inserted into their gall bladders. The dripping bile is collected as a cure for ailments ranging from an upset stomach to skin burns. The bear may live as long as fifteen years in this state. Rhinos are being illegally poached for their horns, as are tigers for their bones, thought to improve virility. Booming economies and growing wealth in parts of Asia are increasing demand for these precious medicinals. Already endangered species are being sacrificed for temporary treatments for nausea and erectile dysfunction. Richard Ellis, one of the world's foremost experts in wildlife extinction, brings his alarm to the pages of Tiger Bone & Rhino Horn, in the hope that through an exposure of this drug trade, something can be done to save the animals most direly threatened. Trade in animal parts for traditional Chinese medicine is a leading cause of species endangerment in Asia, and poaching is increasing at an alarming rate. Most of traditional Chinese medicine relies on herbs and other plants, and is not a cause for concern. Ellis illuminates those aspects of traditional medicine, but as wildlife habitats are shrinking for the hunted large species, the situation is becoming ever more critical. One hundred years ago, there were probably 100,000 tigers in India, South China, Sumatra, Bali, Java, and the Russian Far East. The South Chinese, Caspian, Balinese, and Javan species are extinct. There are now fewer than 5,000 tigers in all of India, and the numbers are dropping fast. There are five species of rhinoceros--three in Asia and two in Africa--and all have been hunted to near extinction so their horns can be ground into powder, not for aphrodisiacs, as commonly thought, but for ailments ranging from arthritis to depression. In 1930, there were 80,000 black rhinos in Africa. Now there are fewer than 2,500. Tigers, bears, and rhinos are not the only animals pursued for the sake of alleviating human ills--the list includes musk deer, sharks, saiga antelope, seahorses, porcupines, monkeys, beavers, and sea lions--but the dwindling numbers of those rare species call us to attention. Ellis tells us what has been done successfully, and contemplates what can and must be done to save these animals or, sadly, our children will witness the extinction of tigers, rhinos, and moon bears in their lifetime.

Horn of Darkness

Horn of Darkness PDF Author: Carol Cunningham
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195138805
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
The black rhino is nature's tank, feared by all animals. Even lions will break off a hunt to detour around one. And yet the black rhino is on the edge of extinction, its numbers dwindling from 100,000 at the turn of the century, to less than 2,500 today. The reason is that in places like Yemen, China, Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, the rhino's horn is more valuable than gold, so valuable that people will risk their lives to harvest it. To deter rhino poachers, African governments have spent millions--on helicopters, paramilitary operations, fences and guard dogs, even relocation to protected areas. Finally, Namibia decided to de-horn its rhino population, in a last ditch effort to stop the slaughter. In 1991, Carol Cunningham and Joel Berger, and their eighteen-month-old daughter Sonja, went to Namibia to weigh the effects of de-horning on rhinos. In Horn of Darkness, they tell the story of three years in the Namib Desert, studying Africa's last sizable population of free-roaming black rhinos. This is the closest most readers will come to experiencing life in the remaining wilds of Africa. Cunningham and Berger, writing nate chapters, capture what it is like to leave the comforts of civilization, to camp for months at a time in a land filled with deadly predators, to study an animal that is reclusive, unpredictable, and highly dangerous. The authors describe staking out water holes in the dead of the night, creeping to within twenty-seven meters of rhinos to photograph them, all the while keeping a lookout for hyenas, elephants, and lions. They recount many heart-pounding escapes--one rhino forces Carol Cunningham up a tree, an unseen lion in hot pursuit of hyenas races right past a frozen Joel Berger--and capture the adrenaline rush of inching closer to a rhino that might flee--or charge--at any moment. They also give readers a clear sense of the careful, patient work involved in studying animals, the frustration of long days without finding rhinos or seeing other people, coping with heat and thirst (the Namib desert is one of the driest on Earth), with dirt and insects, driving hundreds of kilometers in a Land Rover packed to capacity, slowing amassing records on one hundred individual rhinos over the course of several years. And perhaps most important, the authors reveal that the data they collected suggests that the de-horning project might backfire--that in the four years after de-horning began, calf survival was down (the evidence suggests that hyenas might be preying on calves and the horn less mothers couldn't defend their offspring). They also describe the dark side of scientific work, from the petty jealousy of other scientists--outside researchers were often seen as ecological imperialists--to the controversy that erupted after the authors published their findings, as furious officials of the Namibian conservation program denounced their findings and through delays and other tactics effectively withheld a permit to allow the couple to continue their study. Weaving together the historical accounts of other naturalists, a vividly detailed look at life in the wild, and a behind-the-scenes glimpse of scientific work and the dark side of the conservation movement, Horn of Darkness is destined to be a classic work on the natural world.

Killing for Profit

Killing for Profit PDF Author: Julian Rademeyer
Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa
ISBN: 9781770223349
Category : Animal protection
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
If you are concerned about the survival of an endangered animal species and the environment in general, this is the one book you'll want to read this year.

Asian Rhinos

Asian Rhinos PDF Author: Mohd. Khan bin Momin Khan
Publisher: IUCN
ISBN: 9782831703367
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 122

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Book Description
There are currently three species of Asian rhino: the Indian or greater one-horned Asian rhino, the Javan or lesser one-horned Asian rhino and the Sumatran or Asian two-horned rhino. Today, all three are threatened with extinction and two, the Sumatran rhino and Javan rhino, critically so. Although the Indian rhino is to be found in greater numbers than the other two, the threats to this species nevertheless remain significant. As in the case of the African rhinos, the threats to the Asian rhinos stem from poaching for the horn, the primary demand for which is in traditional Chinese medicine but which is also a speculator's commodity in several consumer nations. However, a further threat to these animals is also posed by the destruction of their habitat. Indeed, two of these species inhabit the tropical rainforest which is being destroyed. This action plan describes the major requirements for rhino conservation and describes some of the programmes which can and are being implemented to stem the threats to these species such as managed breeding and the "in situ" conservation of their habitats.

Ivory, Horn and Blood

Ivory, Horn and Blood PDF Author: Ronald Isaac Orenstein
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781770852273
Category : African elephant
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Describes the illegal trafficking of elephant ivory and rhinoceros horns and the implications for these endangered animals.

Environmental ScienceBites

Environmental ScienceBites PDF Author: Kylienne A. Clark
Publisher: The Ohio State University
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 594

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Book Description
This book was written by undergraduate students at The Ohio State University (OSU) who were enrolled in the class Introduction to Environmental Science. The chapters describe some of Earth's major environmental challenges and discuss ways that humans are using cutting-edge science and engineering to provide sustainable solutions to these problems. Topics are as diverse as the students, who represent virtually every department, school and college at OSU. The environmental issue that is described in each chapter is particularly important to the author, who hopes that their story will serve as inspiration to protect Earth for all life.

The Rhino's Horn

The Rhino's Horn PDF Author: Bryan Hope
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1524660736
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
Set in the near future where social media has erased all meaningful human interaction, The Rhinos Horn tells the story of Kenneth Burke, a father diagnosed with pancreatic cancer who is trying to establish a bond with his son while his life is quickly expiring. His son, Paul, is confined to his room where he, like the rest of the Western World, enters the virtual world via The Suit. In attempt to pull his son from the grips of the Technological Age, Kenneth relocates himself and his son to India, where they both learn what it really means to be human. As their chosen paths reap globally disastrous conclusions, Paul realizes that the real world cannot be replicated, and Kenneth must learn to accept his son for the man that he has become.

Horns, Tusks, and Flippers

Horns, Tusks, and Flippers PDF Author: Donald R. Prothero
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801871351
Category : Nature
Languages : ru
Pages : 334

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Book Description
Since the extinction of the dinosaurs, hoofed mammals have been the planet's dominant herbivores. Native to all continents except Australia and Antarctica, recent paleontological and biological discoveries have deepened understanding of their evolution. This text reveals their evolutionary history.

The Rhino Keepers

The Rhino Keepers PDF Author: Clive Walker
Publisher: Jacana Media
ISBN: 1431404233
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
The conservation of the rhinos in southern Africa is described in this account of these fascinating animals, the reasons behind their historical decline, the myths that surround them, and the resurrection of the rhinoceros horn trade. Few animals face as violent, as well organized, and as determined an enemy as the world's rhinos. But across the African continent, they are being slaughtered on a daily basis, and approximately 5,000 black rhinos and 21,000 white rhinos are all that prevent their extinction. This real account of the rhino wars is a harrowing story, underscoring the enormous challenges that lie ahead for conservation in a world where rhino horns sold by the gram raise double the price of gold and are more expensive than cocaine in the end-user Asian markets. Arguing that protecting Africa's rhinos is of utmost importance, it questions the management of natural heritage and implores readers to recognize their role as rhino keepers of the future.

Rhinoceros Success

Rhinoceros Success PDF Author: Scott Alexander
Publisher: Ramsey Press
ISBN: 1937077152
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
Go get the life you want. Be a Rhinoceros! There is something dangerous about this book. Something big. Something full of power, energy and force of will. It could be about you. You could become three tons of thick-skinned, snorting hard-charging rhinoceros. It is time to go get the life you want.