The "northern" ones are not even a distinct species from the southerners. Granted, they haven't seen each other for a million years, but one solution would be to truck a few thousand beasts north out of South Africa. Another approach (already tried) was to interbreed the two groups. Maybe there is some distinctive DNA in the northern group, but we're not trying to rescue every distinct genome, are we? The article hints at a third solution which would probably work great except that no one likes it. This is not some varmint pest that people want to eliminate. The rhinos are "highly valued" for their ability to synthesize Viagra, or something. So instead of fighting with the poachers, sell them licenses. The poachers will have reason to keep the herd healthy and numerous. I think I have read about this being tried with elephants to some success. If the point is to keep them alive, why wouldn't we consider this?
Yes, it is sad that they are dying out. But I am not awarding a point for a species extinction. That's a lot of adjectives in the name. Only a racist biologist could tell the black ones apart. From: wasoxygen
Date: December 19, 2014 at 19:28:25 GMT+2
To: flagamuffin
Subject: northern white square-lipped lactose-intolerant rhinoceroi