If you ask a kindergarten class to draw a rhinoceros, you’ll probably get an amusing variety of artistic renditions. One feature, however, will likely remain constant: a majestic horn adorning its head, defining the rhino's distinct silhouette.
Yet, in the wild, this iconic horn is disappearing – faster than rhinos in some cases.
In the ongoing battle to protect endangered rhino populations from poaching, conservationists employ a controversial practice known as “dehorning.” This process removes the rhino’s valuable horn, and the poachers' incentive to hunt them.
Anecdotally, dehorning has reduced the number of rhino killings in certain reserves, according Vanessa Duthé, a South African Ph.D. candidate at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland who specializes in black rhino conservation. But controversy still surrounds the practice and the potential consequences of dehorning.
