Rhinoceros means ‘nose horn’, and these massive animals are one of the largest species in the world. There are only around 29,000 rhinos left in the wild, compared to 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th century. Some species are critically endangered. They have no natural enemies but us – the main threat to them is illegal hunting. Their horns are worth a lot of money, weight for weight more than gold, because they can be sold at a very high price to make ‘medicine’, which will never work. Rhino horn is made of a substance similar to finger nails.
Here is my rhino poem:
.
Rhino
.
Who am I,
in the dust
dripping blood,
built like stone
from elephant grass,
and cooled by mud?
Who am I,
dripping blood
down my chin,
shot through my
shields of
mosaic skin?
Who am I,
dripping blood,
face hacked and sawn?
Who am I,
who am I,
without my horn?
.
© Liz Brownlee
Image by Todd on Flikr by CC license.
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