In the battle of rhino and poacher who will win? Zach Rogers, Wilson's School
Extinction is probably a rarely used term in your vocabulary - perhaps only in primary school when referring to the dinosaurs - and certainly never applied to the modern day. But subtly, slowly our rare fauna are being erased and some have even already disappeared: although not as drastic as a meteor, we are witnessing extinction. The act of poaching is defined as the illegal capturing or killing of wild animals and is a prominent practice in South Africa, particularly due to the wildlife that can be found there. An abundance of mammalian, tusked animals - such as elephants - creates a large market for ivory, which hunters will aim to supply. Ivory is not the only resource that poachers find however, as rhino horns are equally sought after for their keratin; the estimated price of an african rhino horn is £20,000 per kg, but asian rhino horns can fetch a shocking £400,000.
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