Three Rhino Populations Disappear, as Natives Think Their Horns Cure Cancer

A peculiar rumor is responsible for the extinction of three populations of rhinos. Experts are now certain that an old belief stating rhino horns power can cure cancer is responsible for the disappearance of three species and the increased vulnerability of the ones remaining to tell the story.

Despite the fact that this speculation relies on no scientific background and hasn't been spotted in the centuries-old Chinese medicine, it was strong enough to wipe the last Vietnamese rhino off the face of the earth earlier this year, reports the Guardian.

Conservation strategies have been immediately drawn up to preserve the fragile balance of the population, while trying to change the consumers' behavior and point that their current belief is wrong.

All in all, people would do almost anything to fight deadly illnesses, even purchase miraculous remedies offered on the back market in most of the developing countries.

They are literally throwing money out of the window, as researchers say their purchase has no effects on their state of health. Moreover, they encourage the illegal commerce, supporting poaching operations all across Vietnam, since this is the main region in which the false rumor has gone viral.

Biologists affirm that Africa's western black rhinoceros shared the same tragic fate with the Javan Rhino and the Sumatran creature is also on the verge of extinction in Indonesia. While in 2007 the legal framework was still efficient, as only 13 rhinos were murdered in South Africa, this year the number of victims is much higher, up to 341, due to the false rumor's increased popularity.

Apparently, this harmful trend started five years ago, when an unidentified politician was allegedly cured of cancer using a powder manufactured out of rhino horns.

Even if nobody was able to give any specific details, the news was spread by word to mouth in no time. It soon ended up on the Internet, where the invention welcomed new followers. Despite the fact that the product is actually more expensive than gold, reaching almost $60,000/kg.

The trend is so powerful that a few thieves managed to break into a European museum to steal a rhino horn. If the rumor continues to spread, creating confusion and turning black markets into profitable gold mines, conservation groups will have to rethink their strategies, or the entire population of rhinos might turn into powder.