UK soldiers kill rare African animal

November 20, 2006

UK troops in Kenya killed a white rhino after it allegedly charged at them.

The White Rhinoceros* or Square-lipped rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is one of the five species of rhinoceros that still exists and is one of the few species left. The White Rhino is under threat from habitat loss and poaching, most recently by an offshoot of the. A recent population count in the Congo turned up only 10 rhinos left in the wild, which led conservationists in January 2005 to propose airlifting White Rhinos from Garamba into Kenya, where their numbers decreased to less than 200*. Although official approval was initially obtained, resentment of foreign interference within the Congo has prevented the airlift from happening as of the beginning of 2006.