Why People Are Dying Rhino's Horns Pink
- Publish Date
- Monday, 25 May 2015, 9:51AM
Can you believe that over 200 Rhinos have already been killed this year by poachers in South Africa!
Some innovative Rhino lovers have come up with a way to slow the slaughter and hopefully stop it all together.
Wildlife workers at Sabi Sand, a private game reserve at the Southernmost tip of Kruger National Park have begun injecting Rhinos with a special cocktail that turns their horn pink in an effort to deter illegal hunters!
The pink dye that they use can also be detected by airport scanners, even after it's ground up to make high priced 'medicines' that help to fuel the illegal killing of the animals.
But that's not all, there's poison in the pink dye! It's perfectly safe for the Rhinos and won't make them sick, but will leave anyone who consumes the horns with some nasty side effects including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Ironically, these are some of the symptoms which rhino horn is incorrectly believed to alleviate. (Rhino horns contain nothing more than the same keratin found in fingernails.)
Vietnam has recently emerged as the single biggest market for Rhino horns