Rhinos Deserve Life

Imagine waking up one morning to find that the entire world is being destroyed by aliens, and only you and everyone in your neighborhood are the last humans alive.

At least three people you know are killed by the aliens every day. Imagine the pain and hopelessness as more of your friends and family are taken away from you every day. 

Food and shelter becomes scarce as the aliens tear up what was once a happy home filled with joy and stories. Every day, you feel closer and closer to death. Everything you ever loved is being destroyed.

This sounds like the plot of a dystopian science fiction book. However, this story is very deeply the reality for a creature you all know about, but have probably never met in person.

The rhino. All five remaining species are ancient, having grown alongside the Earth for 50 Million years of vibrant, mysterious history. 

Humans have only existed for a mere 200,000 years. 

We are the aliens who have only just arrived on the planet, but are already cutting short the lives of its ancient inhabitants, and consequently the lives of the countless other species who depend on them. 

On the map below in light orange is the rightful habitat of the Sumatran Rhino. Those tiny dark orange spots are the only places where the Sumatran Rhinos remain.

There are only 80 Sumatran Rhinos left on planet Earth. That's probably less than everyone in your neighborhood.

The Sumatran Rhino has been on Earth longer than any living mammal. Their species has seen so much that we cannot even fathom. What's happening today is wholly destructive and in no way natural. 

You will most frequently see poaching cited as the main terrorizer of these gentle creatures. Poaching is the illegal hunting of endangered animals for profit on the black market.

And that isn't wrong. Poaching destroys thousands of endangered lives every day.

However, it isn't the whole story. What is arguably an even bigger threat is the ongoing habitat destruction that has limited rhinos' homeland to a few tiny dots.

Most likely, you are not directly benefiting poachers. You are most likely not buying the horns that have been cruelly torn from the faces of rhinos for money. 

The reason why habitat destruction is not talked about as much is because you are directly benefitting it without even trying.

Industries all over the world are built on exploiting the environment for money. 80% of the Amazon Rainforest, for instance, has been turned into a flat wasteland to raise cows for their flesh (beef).

The more of a product you buy, the more of that product will be produced. This is called supply-on-demand. Because of this, the more meat you buy, the more land is destroyed to produce more meat.

Another destructive crop is palm oil. Palm oil is a cheap thickener that can be found in anything from shampoo to peanut butter. Along with being a major destroyer of rhino habitat, palm oil is also really bad for your health– another reason to avoid it.

Today is World Rhino Day, but today should not be the only day that you give any thought to this creature of whom we have hurt so badly.

Rhinos do not stand alone, but are part of a greater community of creatures who depend upon each other. As rhinos are killed, the untold thousands of plants and animals who depend on them die alongside them. What people are doing is a full-on ecocide of the planet for no reason other than to get rich.

You don't have to participate in that ecocide. You can read the ingredients of food you buy and stop buying products that contain palm oil. You can reduce your consumption of meat and other animal products, as those are arguably the most destructive and resource-intensive products in the world.

We need to change. If we all continue to follow the status-quo, and continue business as usual, we are only hurting the planet. 

One day you might be an artist, a writer, a doctor, or anything else, but the only thing that will truly change the world is the mark you leave upon the environment.

Thanks for reading, guys. I know this is a blog about an online game, but I love the real Earth, and I think you should too. 

Have a happy World Rhino Day. Hold these creatures in your heart– they need it.

~DoomyPanda