http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2010/07/rhino-horn-and-traditional-chinese-medicine-facts.html
Apparently, ground-up rhino horn is believed to cure almost any ailment including loss of voice, fever, pus-filled boils and even devil possession. About the only place it supposedly has no place is, ironically, the bedroom. This may explain the growing demand, as it seems to be a cure-all. But as Rhishja Larson explains, rhino horn is really just agglutinated hair, much like fingernails. And a WWF study in 1983 concluded that it has no proven medicinal properties.
Phila is now the face of the anti-poaching movement. She is a brave female rhino who survived being shot in two separate poaching attempts, and who is now recovering at the Johannesburg Zoo. They hope to release her into the wild, but I ask if that is the answer. Surely she can't survive a third attack? Instead, why not educate the people who believe this beautiful animal is the answer to their prayers.
Phila, as taken by Tawanda Mudimu for AP
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