Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB Wageningen, Netherlands.
Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, De Elst 1, 6708 WD Wageningen, Netherlands.
Sci Adv. 2024 Jun 21;10(25):eadl1482. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adl1482.
The decrease in African rhino poaching incidents since 2015 has prompted many to praise the effectiveness of anti-poaching efforts. To test the validity of this statement, we calculated how far poachers moved on average from 2007 to 2022 to find a rhino in the context of the dwindling rhino densities. These calculations demonstrate that the total poaching pressure has remained persistently high since 2013. Given the concurrently declining arrest rates, our results show that the rhino protection practices of the past decade have been insufficient. Instead, we propose that rhinos can best be protected in small and well-monitored "safe havens" while focusing on long-term rhino horn demand reduction.
自 2015 年以来，非洲犀牛偷猎事件的减少促使许多人称赞反偷猎工作的有效性。为了检验这一说法的有效性，我们计算了偷猎者在 2007 年至 2022 年期间平均移动的距离，以找到犀牛在犀牛密度不断减少的情况下的位置。这些计算表明，自 2013 年以来，偷猎的总压力一直保持在较高水平。鉴于同时下降的逮捕率，我们的结果表明，过去十年的犀牛保护措施还不够。相反，我们建议在小而受监控的“安全避难所”中最好地保护犀牛，同时专注于长期减少犀牛角的需求。
