1,000 Endangered, African Rhinos May Be Moving to South Texas

Some endangered, orphaned White Rhinos from Africa could be moving to the glorious state of Texas for sanctuary. 

In Africa, 3 to 5 rhinos are killed a week in the wild. The horn of a rhino goes for big money on the black market. With only about 25,000 rhinos left in the wild, that means in about 25 years, there might not be anymore rhinos left.

The horn of a rhino is worth about $360,000, while the average income of a person in Africa is around $1,700 a year. Because of this, even though hunting rhinos is illegal, many will still do it for the payday.

The Exotic Wildlife Association (EWA) and Groupelephants.com want to take some drastic measures to keep a portion of these animals safe: moving approximately 1,000 to Texas. South Texas has similar climate and terrain to South Africa. The EWA is working with South African officials and the U.S. Department of Interior to get the animals approved, and then transported by aircraft.

Charly Seale, executive director of the Exotic Wildlife Association, assured animal advocates that the animals would be protected,

These animals will never be in commerce, they will not be sold, they will not be hunted. They will be able to roam around the countryside.

Once the rhinos get into the United States, they would be quarantined until they were adopted into private homes. The animals would need extensive and expensive care, while potential adopters would go through extensive background checks. They would also need to build appropriate housing and living areas for the rhinos.

In the future, the EWA hope to rehabilitate the rhino population, then reintroduce them back in South Africa. Although Sealy does note that will not happen until South African officials “have a handle over there with the poaching problem.”