FAQs about Saving Rhinos
In 2012, Saving Rhinos became a project of the nonprofit organization Annamiticus, organized and operated for educational purposes within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Service Code section 501(c)(3).
What does Saving Rhinos do?
Saving Rhinos provides news and information about the illegal rhino horn trade and global rhino conservation issues. Saving Rhinos was launched in 2007 and as of May 2012, is published by Annamiticus.
How does Saving Rhinos work?
- Professionally curate and publish news, information, and content on a central platform.
- Inform the public and the media by providing insight and contextual relevance regarding issues that do not typically receive in-depth coverage.
- Network behind the scenes to assist verifiable media sources and select NGOs with content and research projects.
- Create educational and public awareness materials (see our Downloads page).
- Distribute our articles, podcasts, videos, posters and other content via social media channels, such as Facebook® and Twitter.
Where can I see the work of Saving Rhinos?
- Blogs: Rhino Horn is Not Medicine and Project Pangolin
- Podcast: Behind the Schemes
- Videos: Check out our YouTube channel
- Posters and fact sheets: Get 'em from our downloads page
Check out our media mentions page to see how we're making a difference by helping to get the word out about the rhino crisis.
How is Saving Rhinos funded?
- In 2012, Saving Rhinos became a project of the nonprofit organization Annamiticus, organized and operated for educational purposes within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Service Code section 501(c)(3). If you would like to support our work, you can make a donation securely online or send a check to our mailing address.
- Saving Rhinos relies on t-shirt and merchandise sales, as well as donations, to help cover our publishing and production work (see above).
- If you enjoy our content or otherwise find it useful, we'd love it if you'd help us out with a donation or by purchasing a t-shirt.
- Feeling generous? Please check out our shortlist of reputable organizations that are deserving of your hard-earned money.
Meet our team.
Does Saving Rhinos use social media?
Yes! Saving Rhinos maintains a social media presence that currently includes our blog Rhino Horn is Not Medicine, as well as Facebook® and Twitter. Our Facebook® page is comprised of an international community of fans, including South Africa, Kenya, the United States, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Nepal, Malaysia - and more!
Saving Rhinos also publishes Project Pangolin.
Meet our Founder and learn more on our About page.
Who is Saving Rhinos?
Saving Rhinos was launched in 2007 by Rhishja Cota-Larson. We launched Project Pangolin in October 2011 and Behind the Schemes in February 2012. In May 2012, we launched the nonprofit organization Annamiticus, which reflects the expansion of our content and projects.
Rhishja is the Editor of the blogs Annamiticus, Rhino Horn is NOT Medicine , Project Pangolin, host of the weekly web series and podcast Behind the Schemes, author of the book Murder Myths & Medicine, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. She was also a guest blogger on National Geographic's NatGeo News Watch (Rhino horn: All myth, no medicine) and contributor for the Jeff Corwin Connect Citizen Blog.
Rhishja is a Producer for "The Price", an upcoming documentary about the rhino crisis. She has also been interviewed on the environmental science news site Mongabay (Belief and butchery: how lies and organized crime are pushing rhinos to extinction), the BBC World Business Report, and on The WildLife with Laurel Neme radio talk show, discussing the illegal trade in rhino horn. You can listen to the podcast by clicking the green arrow on the play bar below:
Rhishja's articles are frequently referenced, and she has been quoted in The New York Times ("Rhino Horns Lure Museum Thieves"), African Business ("Golden Horn Spells Doom for African Rhino") and Consultancy Africa Intelligence (CAI) ("Poaching, mass harvesting of rhino horn and illegal trade"). She has written over 100 articles about endangered species, particularly those that are threatened by illegal trafficking.
Check out her book, Murder, Myths & Medicine.
(Please note this book contains EXTREMELY graphic images.)
But isn't information about the rhino crisis useless unless it is communicated in China and/or Vietnam (where rhino horn is now marketed as an "anti-cancer" treatment)?
Keep in mind that many Chinese and Vietnamese people who do care about protecting rhinos and other wildlife are living abroad, and are likely to discuss these issues with their families and friends in China/Vietnam. Thus, it is important to spread the word about the rhino crisis across as many countries as possible.
To help wildlife supporters and friends of the rhino in China and Vietnam give a voice to rhinos, our "Rhino Horn is Not Medicine" campaign posters and t-shirts are available in Chinese (Mandarin) and Vietnamese.
How do you know people are finding and using Saving Rhinos' public awareness materials?
In any given month, our websites receive traffic from 50 - 100 countries, adding up to thousands of visits - and our content has been translated into several languages by website users and researchers. Additionally, our public awareness and educational materials have been downloaded and utilized in educational projects all over the world.
Does public awareness really make a difference?
Yes! One of the most encouraging examples is the rhino horn public awareness campaign conducted in Yemen nearly ten years ago by Dr. Esmond Bradley Martin and Lucy Vigne.
Because of the campaign, Yemen's illegal trade in rhino horn has not re-surfaced as a threat to rhinoceros populations. Read the full article: Yemen No Longer Major Destination for illegal Rhino Horn.
Needed: Accurate reporting on rhino poaching by the media. Instead of simply noting that "rhino horn is used in Chinese medicine", we believe a more accurate statement would help educate the public and should be universal:
Although rhino horn has no medicinal effects on humans ,myths about rhino horn persist in China andVietnam - where rhino horn is unfortunately believed to be a "remedy" for a wide variety of conditions, from a hangovers to cancer. The cultural myths surrounding rhino horn are why rhinos are slaughtered illegally - and why wild rhino populations in Africa and Asia remain under threat.
We need to teach people to stop thinking of rhino horn as a valuable commodity and start focusing on the facts. Rhino horn has no medicinal properties, no curative benefits, and no magical powers.
We believe that social media and content sharing campaigns are helping to accomplish this.
Learn more at Busting the Rhino Horn Myth with Science.
Do people from China - or other places where rhino horn is sold as medicine - visit the Saving Rhinos website?
Yes, they do. And the results are encouraging: Our visitors from China and Vietnam are mostly from schools and universities - and usually arrive at our website looking for information about how to help rhinos and how to save rhinos from extinction.
Keep in mind that many Chinese and Vietnamese people who do care about protecting rhinos and other wildlife are living abroad, and are likely to discuss these issues with their families and friends in China/Vietnam. It's important to spread the word about the rhino crisis across as many countries as possible.
To help wildlife supporters and friends of the rhino in China and Vietnam give a voice to rhinos, our "Rhino Horn is Not Medicine" campaign posters and t-shirts are available in Chinese (Mandarin) and Vietnamese.
