Rhinosarecriticallyendangered 　　Atthe 　　turnofthe19thcentury,therewereapproximatelyonemillionrhinos. 　　In1970,therewerearound70,000.Today,thereareonlyaround 　　28,000rhinossurvivinginthewild.Threeofthefivespecies 　　ofrhinoare“CriticallyEndangered”asdefinedbytheIUCN(World 　　ConservationUnion).Ataxonisclassifiedascriticallyendangered 　　whenthebestavailableevidenceindicatesthatitmeetsanyofa 　　rangeofpre-determinedcriteria.Itisthereforeconsideredtobe 　　facinganextremelyhighriskofextinctioninthewild.TheSouthern 　　subspeciesofthewhiterhinoisclassifiedbytheIUCNinthelesser 　　categoryofbeing“NearThreatened”;andtheGreaterone-hornedrhino 　　isclassifiedas"Vulnerable";eventhisisconsideredtobefacinga 　　highriskofextinctioninthewild.In2014,someofusare 　　luckyenoughtobeabletotraveltoAfricaandAsiatoseethemin 　　thewild.In2024,whenourchildrenhavegrownup,willtheystillbeabletoseewildrhinos? 　　Rhinoshavebeenaroundfor40millionyears 　　Rhinos 　　havebeenanimportantpartofawiderangeofecosystemsfor 　　millionsofyears;wemustnotletthemjointhedodoinextinction. 　　Humanshavecausedthedrasticdeclineinnumbers 　　Poacherskillrhinosforthepricetheycangetforthehorns(usedfor 　　traditionalChinesemedicine,forhigh-statusgiftsinVietnamandfor 　　quackcuresinventedbycriminalsyndicatestodriveupdemand);land 　　encroachment,illegalloggingandpollutionaredestroyingtheir 　　habitat;andpoliticalconflictsadverselyaffectconservationprogrammes. 　　Rhinosareanumbrellaspecies 　　When 　　protectingandmanagingarhinopopulation,rangersandscientiststakeinaccountalltheotherspeciesinteractingwithrhinosandthosesharingthesamehabitat.Whenrhinosareprotected,manyotherspeciesaretoo;notonlymammalsbutalsobirds,reptiles,fishandinsects 　　aswellasplants. 　　Rhinosarecharismaticmega-herbivores! 　　Byfocusingonawell-knownanimalsuchasarhino(or,tousethe 　　jargon,acharismaticmega-herbivore),wecanraisemoremoneyandconsequentlysupportmoreconservationprogrammesbenefitinganimaland 　　plantspeciessharingtheirhabitat. 　　Rhinosattractvisitorsandtourists 　　Rhinos 　　arethesecond-biggestlivinglandmammalsaftertheelephants.Togetherwithlion,giraffe,chimpanzeeandpolarbear,therhinoisone 　　ofthemostpopularspecieswithzoovisitors.Inthewild,rhinos 　　attracttouristswhobringmoneytonationalparksandlocal 　　communities.Theyareoneofthe“BigFive”,alongwithlion,leopard, 　　elephantandbuffalo. 　　In-situconservationprogrammesneedourhelp 　　Protecting 　　andmanagingarhinopopulationisarealchallengethatcostsenergyandmoney.Rhino-rangecountriesneedourfinancialsupport,and 　　benefitfromsharedexpertiseandexchangeofideas. 　　Moneyfundseffectiveconservationprogrammesthatsaverhinos 　　We 　　knowthatconservationeffortssavespecies.TheSouthernwhiterhino