Rhinos driven to extinction by poaching: report

Reuters reports that rhino horn poachers are leading the species to extinction.

Several nature protection groups claim in a report that rampant poaching of once thriving rhino populations in Africa and Asia could lead the species to extinction.

While between 2000 and 2005 a relatively low total of three rhinos were estimated to have been illegally killed each month in Africa out of a total population of some 18,000, 12 were now being slaughtered monthly in [South Africa and Zimbabwe] alone.

Rhinoceros spotting is a highlight of many who go on a safari in Africa.

The horn is thought to have medicinal qualities and is used in folk cures in many Asian countries.

Read the full story: Poachers pushing rhinos to extinction: nature groups