World Rhino Day: Helping save the critically endangered species from extinction

Writer: Paul Dolan
Published: Updated:
world rhino day
Photo by Nicole Kruger on Pexels.com

For the last 12 years, World Rhino Day has been celebrated on Sept. 22 to raise awareness and to help save the species from extinction.

According to the World Wildlife Foundation, at the start of the 20th century, around 500,000 rhinos romaed Asia and Africa. Since then, the population has plummeted to a mere 27,000.

world rhino day
Photo by Elliot Connor on Pexels.com

The five extant species of rhinos are the black, white, greater one-horned, Sumatran and the Javan rhinoceros.

Of those five species, the Sumatran, Javan, and black rhinos are critically endangered. There are only around 40 Sumatran and 70 Javan rhinos left in the wild.

Poaching, habitat loss and the illegal wildlife trade are some of the primary threats facing the species.

Click here to donate to the Save Black Rhinos project. The World Wildlife Foundation website says, “For today [Sept. 22] only—in honor of World Rhino Day—every dollar will be 3X matched by an anonymous donor (up to $250,000)*, so your impact to help save rhinos will be tripled.”

Click here to learn more about rhinos and how you can help save the species from extinction.

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