Rhino convulses, dies during anti-poaching demo

A conservation group, Rhino Rescue Project, which had been demonstrating an anti-poaching method for reporters in South Africa, accidentally killed the rhinoceros they were using in the demonstration, when the animal had an adverse reaction to the anesthesia used.

Spencer, as the rhino was nicknamed, went into convulsions after he was shot with a tranquilizer dart. Rhino Rescue Project spokeswoman Lorinda Hern said, "The rhino had an unfortunate reaction to the anesthesia. Every time you dart a rhino, you take a risk that the rhino might not wake up and unfortunately today was one of those days."

Spencer was a male rhino in his mid to late 20s, which is fairly old for a rhinoceros. He could not be revived after being sedated on Thursday.

The procedure, carried out in front of dozens of journalists and wildlife experts at the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve, near Johannesburg, South Africa, was supposed to demonstrate how a rhino would be equipped with a tracking device, as well as put anti-poaching dye --- pink indelibel coloring --- and a poison that makes a human sick when ingested. The treatments are supposed to render the rhino horn, which is the object of poachers, valueless to them.

Veterinarians drilled a hole into Spencer's horn, then inserted a microchip and tracking device as well as the anti-poaching technology. That part of the procedure went well. However, when it came time to wake the animal up, the experts could not.

A decade ago, the country, which is home to the greatest number of rhinos and has over 20,000 of them, was losing about 15 of them to poachers annually. However, poaching has dramatically increased since 2007 with the spread of wealth in places such as Vietnam and Thailand, where superstitious people stilll believe that the horn has "magical" or "medicinal" properties.

By 2009 the number had increased to 122, and by 2010 it was up to 338. In 2011, a record 448 rhinos were killed by poachers. A majority were killed in Kruger National Park, which borders on Mozambique.

While the death of Spencer was an accident, the authorities still called it on related to the poachers. Hern said, "It's sad for us; it's the loss of another animal. It's a death that I still chalk up to poaching."

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

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