# Endangered Rhino Solution? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 15, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/endangered-rhino-solution/408125 "2007-06-15T14:18:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/endangered-rhino-solution/408125/1 "2007-06-15T14:18:36Z")
Rhinos are going extinct from poachers. Why not have park rangers tranquilize rhinos and cut the things off. They grow back like fingernails, take only 3 years to come back, the endangered animal lives, poachers have no reason to shoot. Tourists won’t get to see the horns on the animals, but they’ll see more of them and they’ll survive. The government can sell the horns to raise money and people can buy them guilt free. A rhino horn farm might even be cost effective. Why has no park done this? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/endangered-rhino-solution/408125/2 "2007-06-15T14:22:28Z")
I believe this has been done in some cases, but I think there are problems - rhinos have horns because _rhinos need horns_. Sawing them off doesn’t necessarily doom the rhino, but it might not be good. Also, selling the legitimately sawn-off horns would sustain a market for the poached ones, so that’s something conservationists might be reluctant to do. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/endangered-rhino-solution/408125/3 "2007-06-15T14:26:05Z")
From the wikipedia article: > [@](#): > > To prevent poaching, in certain areas rhinoceroses have been tranquilized and their horns removed. > **[Rhinoceros](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros)** > > Fossil genera, see text A rhinoceros (/raɪˈnɒsərəs/ ry-NOSS-ə-rəss; from Ancient Greek ῥινόκερως (rhinókerōs) 'nose-horned'; from ῥίς (rhis) 'nose' and κέρας (kéras) 'horn'; pl.: rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family Rhinocerotidae. It is the only living family in the superfamily Rhinocerotoidea (whose members are also sometimes called rhino... I’m not sure if you’re right about the horn’s growing back, though. I can’t find a cite for it now, but rhino horn, if it grows in an adult at all, certainly doesn’t grow at a rate like fingernails. I’ve heard of (and seen) rhino horns with [pieces cut out of them, and the condition persists for years. If the horn were growing fast and wearing down, that wouldn’t be the case. And if the horn grows so slowly that this isn’t the case, then a “polled” rhino is effectively hornless from then on. I think those rginos referred to in the Wikipedia article are for all practical purposes hornless for life. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/endangered-rhino-solution/408125/4 "2007-06-15T14:28:45Z")
I have an endangered rhino solution. I spray it around my house to ward off the endangered crocodiles. Haven’t seen any endangered crocodiles around my house in AGES. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/endangered-rhino-solution/408125/5 "2007-06-15T14:35:56Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] From the wikipedia article: > **[Rhinoceros](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros)** > > Fossil genera, see text A rhinoceros (/raɪˈnɒsərəs/ ry-NOSS-ə-rəss; from Ancient Greek ῥινόκερως (rhinókerōs) 'nose-horned'; from ῥίς (rhis) 'nose' and κέρας (kéras) 'horn'; pl.: rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family Rhinocerotidae. It is the only living family in the superfamily Rhinocerotoidea (whose members are also sometimes called rhino... I’m not sure if you’re right about the horn’s growing back, though. I can’t find a cite for it now, but rhino horn, if it grows in an adult at all, certainly doesn’t grow at a rate like fingernails. I’ve heard of (and seen) rhino horns with [pieces cut out of them, and the condition persists for years. If the horn were growing fast and wearing down, that wouldn’t be the case. And if the horn grows so slowly that this isn’t the case, then a “polled” rhino is effectively hornless from then on. I think those rginos referred to in the Wikipedia article are for all practical purposes hornless for life. [/QUOTE] The horn is like a composite material constructed from fused hairs. I think it does keep growing, but it’s not going to be fast, I expect. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/endangered-rhino-solution/408125/6 "2007-06-15T14:39:24Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] I have an endangered rhino solution. [/QUOTE] I can’t get them to dissolve, no matter how long I stir. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/endangered-rhino-solution/408125/7 "2007-06-15T14:41:49Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] And if the horn grows so slowly that this isn’t the case, then a “polled” rhino is effectively hornless from then on. [/QUOTE] But, in the case of rhinos, “hornless” does not mean “harmless.” They are nasty customers with or without their horns. But surprisingly tractable, even pleasant, in captivity. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/endangered-rhino-solution/408125/8 "2007-06-15T15:36:08Z")
More then you wanted to know about [rhino horn growth](http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/dbms-witmer/Downloads/2006_Hieronymus-Witmer-Ridgely_rhino_horn.pdf). Short answer, the nasal horn of white rhinos grows about 5-6cm/year. This paper, [Dehorning African Rhinos: A Model of Optimal Frequency and Profitability](http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0962-8452%2819920722%29249%3A1324%3C83%3ADARAMO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-F&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage) concludes that dehorning would have to be done annually, and because of the danger of injuring or killing the rhino during the process, it’s not a viable option. The whole paper isn’t viewable here, but the first page and summary are.