The EAZA Rhino Campaign

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The EAZA Rhino Campaign 210 ELEPHANTS AND RHINOCEROS Int. Zoo Yb. (2006) 40: 210–217 © The Zoological Society of London The EAZA Rhino Campaign C. DEAN1 &C.A.BOS2 1Director, Save the Rhino International, 16 Winchester Walk, London SE1 9AQ, United Kingdom, and 2Manager, EAZA Membership Services & Accreditation and Coordinator EAZA Conservation Campaigns, EAZA Executive Office, PO Box 20164, 1000 HD Amsterdam, The Netherlands E-mail: [email protected] and [email protected] Each year the European Association of Zoos and of the necessity for conservation and by Aquaria (EAZA) co-ordinates a year-long fund- actively participating in and providing raising and awareness campaign, focusing on a parti- cular taxa or conservation issue. Rhinoceros species support to in situ and ex situ conservation have been chosen as the subject of the current cam- projects worldwide (EAZA, 2005a). paign, which runs from September 2005 until The EAZA Rhino Campaign is the fifth October 2006. A fundraising target of Euros 350 000 in a series of year-long fundraising and has been set and 100% of the funds raised will be donated to in situ rhinoceros-conservation projects. awareness conservation campaigns, Save the Rhino International, a UK-registered focusing on a particular taxa or conser- charity, is working jointly with EAZA to develop vation issue. The EAZA Bushmeat Cam- and run the EAZA Rhino Campaign. paign, which started in September 2000, was the first and since then the South Key-words: awareness raising, EAZA, education, fundraising, in situ conservation, rhinoceros American Atlantic Rainforest, tigers, and turtles and tortoises (Shellshock) have been the focal topics (Table 2). To date, On 7 September 2005 the European the EAZA Tiger Campaign has been the Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) most successful in financial terms, with launched the EAZA Rhino Campaign at over Euros 750 000 raised over a 2 year their annual conference in Bath, UK. At period (the Campaign was extended) and the beginning of the 20th century there 133 EAZA members participated (EAZA, were an estimated half a million rhino- 2006). The initial fundraising target for ceros in the wild. By the beginning of the Shellshock was set at Euros 150 000 but 1970s this had reduced to c. 70 000 and, preliminary results show that the 120 at time of writing, the total world rhino- EAZA members, and several non-EAZA ceros population numbers Q18 000 member participants, raised over (IUCN, 2004; http://www.eaza.net; http:// Euros 300 000 (Bos, 2005, 2006). www.rhinos-irf.org) (Table 1). EAZA is a truly pan-European organ- Objectives The EAZA Rhino Campaign ization with over 300 members in 34 coun- provides the opportunity to reach 125 mil- tries in Europe and the Middle East. More lion annual visitors to EAZA member than 125 million people visit the zoos and institutions (EAZA, 2005a). The aim is to aquariums that are members of EAZA raise a minimum of Euros 350 000 and to annually. EAZA represents and links involve at least 150 EAZA member European zoos and aquariums in order to institutions. maintain or increase the standards of Education departments in zoos these institutions. EAZA zoos and aquar- generally create programmes relevant to iums play a vital role in conservation by their own collections and audiences. They promoting an increase in public awareness provide information packs that include EAZA RHINO CAMPAIGN 211 species no. iucn status surviving Javan rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus 600 Critically Endangered Sumatran rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis 300 Critically Endangered Greater one-horned rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis 2400 Endangered Black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis 3600 Critically Endangered White rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum 11,100 Near Threatened Table 1. The conservation status of the five remaining rhinoceros species in the wild. Information from EAZA (www.eaza.net) and IUCN (www.redlist.org) (see also Amin, Thomas et al., this volume). facts, images and suggestions for educa- For many people in Europe, the USA, tional activities but, in reality, it is imposs- South America or Australia, their only ible to address all the demands of different contact with rhinoceros species is via tele- national curricula. In addition, such edu- vision. Natural-history programmes cation programmes only reach people who invariably describe the appearance and are already interested enough in wildlife behaviour of animals but any viewer that to have visited their local zoo. However, has not been to sub-Saharan Africa, for there are millions more people who are example, may believe that the area is a not aware of the conservation efforts vast safari park, with no mobile-phone being made to preserve wild animals in masts, tarmac roads, traffic, litter or their natural habitat. pylons. Often no mention is made of the EAZA Bushmeat Campaign 2000–2001 149 participants EAZA Rainforest Campaign 2001–2002 100 participants EAZA Tiger Campaign 2002–2004 133 participants EAZA Turtle and Tortoise Campaign ‘Shellshock’ 2004–2005 120 participants EAZA Rhino Campaign 2005–2006 target: 150 participants Table 2. Since 2000 EAZA has co-ordinated year-long fundraising and awareness campaigns. The EAZA Tiger Campaign was extended to 2 years. EAZA had c. 250 zoo and aquarium members over the period 2000–2005 and other conservation groups, such as zoo associations or NGOs, also participate in the campaigns. 212 ELEPHANTS AND RHINOCEROS species no. no. participating eep co-ordinator 7.8 institutions White rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum 84.123 63 Dr Kristina Tomasova, Dvur Kralove Zoo, Czech Republic Black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis 29.51 16 Dr med. vet. Andreas Ochs, Zoologischer Garten Berlin, Germany Greater one-horned rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis 15.22 14 Dr Olivier Pagan & Ms Beatrice Steck, Zoo Basel, Switzerland Table 3. The numbers of the three rhinoceros species kept in the framework of the EEP breeding programme in Europe as at 1 January 2004. fact that iconic species, such as Cheetahs 4. The Campaign Info Pack was pro- Acinonyx jubatus or Black rhinoceros duced for distribution to all EAZA mem- Diceros bicornis, are Vulnerable and Criti- bers. However, by also making it freely cally Endangered, respectively (IUCN, available to zoos and conservation NGOs 2004), and there is little or no discussion (non-governmental organizations) in of the reasons why such species are threat- rhinoceros range countries, they may be ened or details of what can be done to able to enhance signage, displays and edu- save them and their natural habitats. cation programmes in their own institu- The Black rhinoceros and White rhino- tions and networks. ceros Ceratotherium simum are indigenous 5. The Campaign will help to publicize to to Africa, while the Greater one-horned visitors the immensely valuable work car- or Indian rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis ried out by many zoos and NGOs in the originates from the Indian sub-continent. field. Many people have never heard of the Javan rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus Participation The key to the success of and Sumatran rhinoceros Dicerorhinus the EAZA Rhino Campaign will be the sumatrensis, both found in Asia (see also active participation of as many EAZA Amin, Thomas et al., this volume). members as possible and, in turn, the ability of those members to engage the Benefits By educating, raising awareness attention of the general public. However, and fundraising, the EAZA Rhino Cam- there are some obstacles to achieving this; paign will produce a number of benefits. for example, it may be difficult to engage 1. A wide range of in situ rhinoceros con- institutions, such as aquariums, that do servation projects will benefit financially not maintain large terrestrial mammals. In from the resulting grants. fact only c. 90 of the 296 EAZA members 2. The Campaign will enable more zoos (number of EAZA members at the start to become involved in field projects, of the campaign) maintain one or more of especially those that may not have the the three species currently kept as part of resources to do this independently. EAZA’s European Endangered species 3. The links forged between the benefi- Programmes (EEPs) in Europe (De Man ciary field projects and the participating et al., 2005) (Table 3). zoos have the potential to become longer Although rhinoceros species have term, involving not only financial support always been popular with visitors, they but also the exchange of expertise and also have an unjustified reputation for experience. aggression, they do not cohabit in family EAZA RHINO CAMPAIGN 213 groups and they are not ‘furry’. In chil- rhinoceros be lost but also the Sumatran dren’s literature and films, rhinoceros are orang-utans Pongo pygmaeus abelii, often portrayed as aggressive. It would Sumatran tigers Panthera tigris sumatrae appear that the greatest hazard during the and other Endangered or Critically construction of the Nairobi–Mombasa Endangered species that share the habitat. railway was territorial 7 Black rhinoceros By broadening the EAZA Rhino Cam- derailing steam trains with endless fre- paign to the birds, reptiles, invertebrates quency (Beard, 1988). and other mammals that co-exist with A two-pronged approach was used to rhinoceros, more zoos may discover that encourage zoos to sign up for the EAZA they have a link between their collections Rhino Campaign. First, EAZA members and the Campaign. and other zoos around the world, were Second, the general public, even those encouraged to focus on the rhinoceros as who do not visit zoos, should be made an umbrella or flagship species. These aware of how the rhinoceros is relevant to species share habitats and are sympatric them. If television does not raise aware- with a wide range of birds and other ness of the need for conservation, then mammals. For example, the Cheetah other ways of making a connection must needs wide-open spaces of grassland in be made; for example, either via an easily which to hunt.
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