As probably the only NS member to have actually been on safari in Africa, I will take the time to make a non-trolling and actually useful post.
In the hunting circles, especially the African hunting circles, the ultimate goal is to take the "Big 5." The Big 5 consists of Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Cape Buffalo, and Rhino. These are storied beasts, steeped in legend, and all dangerous to hunt regardless of weapon used. Leopard and Cape Buffalo are reasonable price-wise to harvest. Lion and Elephant are expensive, particularly trophy males. Rhino are in a whole different class, usually in the six figure range.
Yes, Rhino numbers are drastically down from historic levels. There are two different types of rhinos, the White Rhino and the Black Rhino. The White Rhino is the more affordable and more available option, with only a few Black Rhino harvested each year (prices in the high six figures.) So why hunt rhinos? The answer is surprisingly simple, and quite logical.
Rhinos are poached in large numbers because their horns are believed to have aphrodiasiac powers, specifically in Asia. Africa is a very poor continent. People are literally starving there, especially in the more wild areas where rhinos are found. Poaching one rhino and selling its horn on the black market represents an amazing opportunity to better one's life and feed one's family. It is hard to blame the natives for poaching the rhinos when we take the time to look at the conditions in which they live. As such, every rhino that can be found gets poached. The natives are responsible for the decline in rhino numbers, not the white hunters such as the one in the picture.
How can this issue be resolved? Yes, there are game scouts and patrollers, but the African bush is very vast and the motivation to poach high. This is not a viable solution. The answer is to make the rhinos more valuable alive than dead. By allowing a limited number of white hunters to come in and legally take a rhino for six figures, and have a large portion of this money go to the local people, all of a sudden the natives become the best friends of the rhinos. Their number one goal has now changed to making sure that every rhino is protected and revered. They want there to be enough rhinos around that the government will allot a few tags to white hunters. The absolutely enormous financial infusion that stems from the legal harvest of one white rhino is worth so much more than hawking a few horns on the black market. The same has been done with elephants, tremendously successfully. Money talks, here in the US, and in Africa.
There is one other solution to the great white hunter's dream of taking the Big 5. It is common to take elephant, leopard, cape buffalo, and lion. Not very many hunters choose to hunt a rhino, as it is the least sporting of the lot and by far the most expensive. Cape Buffalo are an amazing rush to hunt, and hunters will commonly return to hunt them many, many times. They never get boring, regardless of how many dugga boys one has harvested. As I was saying, if one wishes to pursue the completion of the Big 5, there are "Green Hunts" available. In a green hunt situation, one hunts with a dart gun loaded with tranquilizer. A licensed veterinarian accompanies the hunter and professional hunter along on these hunts, to make certain that the rhino is ok, and help it come out from the tranquilizer. Green hunts are significantly cheaper, the native people still benefit financially, and the rhino population is not diminished.
A green hunt does pose the problem of no trophy to display on one's wall. This has a solution as well. When the rhino is "asleep," very detailed measurements of its head and its horns are taken, along with multiple pictures. Skilled taxidermists here in the states are able to create a reproduction that looks and feels just as good as the real thing. I personally have no desire to hunt rhinos, but I have nothing against one who chooses to do so. I'll gladly stick to cape buffalo and perhaps a leopard for at least a while.
