Africa is home to two species of rhino: the white and the black.  Both are decreasing in numbers daily due to poaching.  The illegal rhino horn trade targets their lives daily.  While South Africa has been one of the most successful countries in protecting the rhino, the poachers do not stop.  The black rhino is on the critically endangered list, with under 6,500 remaining between South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Kenya in 2023.  The Northern white rhino only has two left on the planet, and they are both females.

Rhinos have a unique and important role in the ecosystem as one of the few megaherbivores in existence.  National parks and protected reserves are the only haven left to ensure the continuation of the species.   Despite the best security, fencing, and vigilant patrolling, the demand for rhino horn on the black market in China and Vietnam makes this 2,000lb plant-eating mammal irresistible to poachers.