African Rhinoceros dehorning effect of individual fitness

Rhinoceroses are large herbivorous mammals that have lived on earth for millions of years
however are currently under major threats of going extinct. There are two African rhino species, the
near threatened White (Ceratotherium) and the critically endangered Black (Diceros) rhinos whose
population size is estimated to be about 20165 and 4880 respectively (WWF, IUCN). These animals
are spread over twelve countries in Africa mainly in South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Over the history, humans have assigned different values for the rhino's horns: artistic, religious,
social, collectible and even medical; thus for high market price and a great demand, relentless
poaching is driving those species to extinction (Gao et al. 2016). As a reaction for this poaching crisis,
dehorning was first attempted in 1989 in Damaraland, Namibia which gave hope to the rhino
population ( Lindeque 1990). The purpose of this paper is to determine whether dehroning will
.weaken individual rhino's fitness

First of all, considering animal welfare, the action of horn removal does not hurt the animal directly.
Rhinos are first to be caught and anaesthetized then the horns can be safely cut. The operation is
painless and bloodless since no blood vessels nor nerves innervate this keratinized structure (Ryder.
.1962). However, a small risk during the anesthesiology process is possible (Milner et al. 1992)

The most important point to consider is whether dehorning will affect the behavior and fitness of the
rhino itself especially considering social behavior and calves protection. A study done by Berger and
Cunningham (1994) found that infant mortality was 100% for descendants of a dehorned mother in an
area with spotted predator (hyenas), but 0% for infants of both horned mother in the same conditions
or dehorned mother in predator-free area, suggesting the importance of horns as defensive structures.
The study also shows that 33% of horned adult female mortality was due to lethal wounding due to
intra-specific fight thus dehorning will increase adult survivorship. This result has been questioned
by Lineque et al.: Lindeque, Malan, and K. Peter Erb. "Research on the effects of temporary horn
.removal on black rhinos in Namibia." Pachyderm 20 (1995): 27-30

And there is a rebuttal by Berger & Cunningham: Berger, Joel, and Carol Cunningham. "Is rhino
.dehorning scientifically prudent." Pachyderm 21 (1996): 60-68

In conclusion, dehorning is a great tool in rhino conservation if applied in predator-free area and
following a developed and organized model free of any economic or political pressure. However,
parallel actions must accompany the dehorning solution in order to optimize the results. The spread of
education is necessary to deliberate the people from the myths associated with the rhino horns besides
the need of international laws and law-implementation agreement. Nevertheless, will the legalization
of horn-trade aid in expanding the Rhinoceros population? Or will it lead to a drastic population
?crash
 References

Berger, J., C. Cunningham, A.A. Gawuseb and M. Lindeque .1993. “Costs” and short‐term
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Berger, J. and C. Cunningham.1994. Phenotypic alterations, evolutionarily significant structures, and

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Berger, J. and C. Cunningham.1994. Active intervention and conservation: Africa's pachyderm

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Gao, Y., K.J. Stoner, A.T. Lee and S.G. Clark.2016. Rhino horn trade in china: an analysis of the art
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Milner-Gulland, E. J., J. R. Beddington, and N. Leader-Williams.1992. Dehorning African rhinos: a

.model of optimal frequency and profitability. The Royal Society 249: 83-87

Ryder, M.L. 1962. The structure of rhinoceros horn. Nature, 193:1199-1201

Lindeque, M. "The case for dehorning the black rhinoceros in Namibia." S. AFR. J. SCI./SUID-
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