Male white rhinoceroses, Lake Nakuru, Kenya
© Ingo Arndt/Minden Pictures
On the frontline of extinction
Today's image features white rhinoceros in Lake Nakuru, Kenya. Their journey illustrates the importance of conservation efforts. They have two subspecies: the near-threatened southern white rhinoceros and the critically endangered northern white rhinoceros. In the late 19th century, the southern white rhino, found in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya, was on the brink of extinction due to relentless poaching for their horns. But thanks to more than a century of dedicated management, their numbers have bounced back significantly. Unfortunately, the northern white rhino is in a precarious situation, with only two left—a mother and daughter. They're now under protection at Kenya's Ol Pejeta Conservancy.
India is also home to its own rhino species, the Indian rhinoceros or greater one-horned rhinoceros. Historically, it roamed across the entire Indo-Gangetic Plain, but overhunting and agricultural expansion have drastically reduced its range, now limited to 11 sites in northern India and southern Nepal. Classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, its population is fragmented and confined to less than 20,000 square kilometres.