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A white rhinoceros.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says the fight against rhino poaching remains one of the country’s toughest conservation hurdles.
WWF Rhino Programme Manager for South Africa Jeff Cooke says both black and white rhino are a vital part of the country’s heritage.
However, they continue to face threats from poaching and organised criminal syndicates.
Cooke warns that without sustained action and resources, South Africa may one day wake up without rhino.
Rhisotope Project Goes Live: After six years of intensive research and testing, the Rhisotope Project has officially reached operational status – where rhinos will effectively be protected through nuclear technology. The Rhisotope Project aims to create a powerful deterrent for… pic.twitter.com/maJxXBuzxB
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His comments come as the international community observes World Rhino Day.
Cooke further emphasises that rhino face two main threats, that is an ongoing poaching threat and a loss of habitant.
“At WWF, we are working to address- to a variety of interventions, these includes supporting the owning effect in KwaZulu-Natal, implementing ranger wellness programme to help improve working conditions who look after our rhino as well as our highly successful black rhino ranger extension programme which moves black rhino to new conservation areas where they can breed and thrive,” adds Cooke.
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