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Diceros bicornis ssp. longipes
– Critically Endangered
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CHORDATA
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Class:
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MAMMALIA
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Order:
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PERISSODACTYLA
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Family:
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RHINOCEROTIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Diceros bicornis ssp. longipes
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Infra-specific Authority:
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Zukowsky, 1949
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Common Name/s:
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WESTERN BLACK RHINOCEROS (Eng)
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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CR A2abcd; C1+2a(i); D ver 3.1 (2001)
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Year Assessed:
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2003
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Assessor/s:
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African Rhino Specialist Group
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Evaluator/s:
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Emslie, R. & Brooks, M. (African Rhino Red List Authority)
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Justification:
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The population decline in D. b. longipes has not ceased and the small number of remaining animals are scattered in small numbers over a large area with very limited protection. In addition to the risk of poaching, unless remaining animals can be consolidated, this subspecies will also be vulnerable to genetic and demographic induced declines. This is the most threatened of the six subspecies of African rhinos.
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History:
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| 2000 | - | Critically Endangered (Hilton-Taylor 2000) |
| 2001 | - | Critically Endangered (IUCN 2002) |
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Geographic Range
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Range Description:
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This subspecies once ranged throughout the savanna zones of central-west Africa. Now only a few scattered animals remain in northern Cameroon. A few animals may remain in Chad, but these may be seasonal visitors from Cameroon.
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Countries:
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Native:
Cameroon
Possibly extinct regionally:
Chad
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Population
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Population Trend:
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Habitat and Ecology
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Habitat and Ecology:
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The western black rhino is a browser.
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System:
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Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine
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List of Habitats:
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Threats
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Threats:
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Poaching, lack of finance, limited anti-poaching efforts, limited local capacity for conservation management, failure of courts to hand down sentences that can act as a deterrent to potential poachers, and genetic and demographic factors all pose serious threats to this subspecies.
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List of Threats:
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| 3.2.3 | Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Medicine - Regional/international trade (ongoing) |
| 3.4.3 | Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Materials - Regional/international trade (ongoing) |
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Conservation Actions
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Conservation Actions:
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Included on CITES Appendix I. An action plan for Cameroon was developed in 1993, following an international mission and workshop held at Garoua, but was never implemented. A high level stakeholders workshop was held in Cameroon in 2000 to discuss potential strategies to try to prevent the extinction of this subspecies. Surveys in 2001 failed to confirm and photograph at least five rhinos, and the lack of sufficient funding has meant that remaining animals remain scattered in highly vulnerable small groups. Funding is being sought for surveys which hopefully can provide the confirmed evidence necessary to proceed to the next stage of the recovery plan.
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List of Conservation Actions:
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| 1.1.1 | Policy-based actions - Management plans - Development (in place, needed) |
| 1.1.2 | Policy-based actions - Management plans - Implementation (in place, needed) |
| 1.2.1.1 | Policy-based actions - Legislation - Development - International level (in place, needed) |
| 1.2.2.1 | Policy-based actions - Legislation - Implementation - International level (in place, needed) |
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Bibliography
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Bibliography:
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African Rhino Specialist Group. For more information, see the Specialist Group website. Emslie, R. and Brooks, M. (compilers) 1999. African Rhino Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC African Rhino Specilaist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. Hilton-Taylor, C. (compiler). 2000. 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. IUCN. 2002. 2002 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. . Downloaded on 8 October 2002. IUCN. 2003. 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 18 November 2003.
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