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April 16, 2007
Grass Guzzlers: White Rhinos For Sale
Your average cow might need about 25lbs of grass per day to eat, while a white rhino needs more like 100lb of grazing material daily. This translates to about 23 acres of bermuda grass to feed a single rhino for a year. Hippos also eat about 100lbs of grass per evening.
Clearly quite a bit larger than my backyard, bummer. There goes my idea of getting a pet hippo or a pet rhino. Still, zoos and game farms buy excess wildlife from parks like the South Africa's Kruger National Park each year. This legitimate wildlife trade keeps parks from becoming overpopulated and overgrazed, as well as enhancing the genetic diversity and range of species.
South African National Parks is selling as many as 100 white rhinoceroses from Kruger National Park to the general public. The rhinos will cost from $9,000 to $37,000 each, depending on sex. Females are most expensive and are sold with their young so as not to separate mother and calf.
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There are an estimated 13,000 white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) in South Africa, where they are endemic. Kruger is home to as many as 7,000 of the endangered herbivores, accounting for roughly half of the worldwide population. Sales of various animal species, including elephants, antelope, and buffalo, generated about $1 million for SANParks last year.
More At: National Geographic News: Your Own Pet Rhinoceros?
You can find out more about African rhinos in our African Field Notes.
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Posted by sorsha at April 16, 2007 4:58 PM
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Comments
Sold? To the general public? And they aren't even that expensive? (compared to, say, a horse at maybe $10-15000 for a good breed)
What sort of protections are in place to prevent some wealthy hunters from grabbing a bunch and hosting a hunt on their family property?
They are still endangered/protected, afterall.
Posted by: Shane Conder | April 18, 2007 3:41 PM
You still need all the necessary permits, etc. But yes, to the public, specifically game farms in Africa, and zoos that would trade with them, too.
Posted by: Lauren Darcey | April 18, 2007 3:50 PM
l'll love to order for one let me know the requirement.
Thank you
Posted by: Lord S | October 30, 2007 9:13 PM
I'd like one, too, Lord S.
You'd have to ask the South African wildlife service for details on their requirements.
Posted by: Lauren Darcey | October 31, 2007 9:56 AM
How much does it cost to feed a Hippo for 30 days?
{It's a school project}
Thanks
Posted by: Connie | December 20, 2007 3:35 PM
Well, since I said that Hippos also eat about 100lbs of grass per evening, that would be
(100 lbs of grass) X (31 days in a month) = About 3,100 lbs of grass a month, or 1.5 tons.
Posted by: Lauren Darcey | December 20, 2007 3:56 PM