On the Internet, you can read about an unusual way to combat poachers-zoo defenders allegedly paint tusks and animal horns in bright pink. It is reported that after such a procedure, the elephant bone and the horns of rhinos cannot be sold in the black market. We checked whether this method is real.
Often, publications on painting tusks and horns are found in pink in social networks. According to numerous posts, the paint used cannot be washed off, but at the same time it does not cause any harm to animals. In addition, different records indicate different options for the original use of this paint, but everything comes down to the banking sector: somewhere somewhere writethat this paint is needed for banking checks, and somewhere-that it Stand bills in banks or Water stolen banknotes. It is also stated that customers do not need horns and tusks of this color, so it is impossible to sell them and the meaning of hunting disappears, and animals remain safe. All such publications are accompanied by one or two photographs, which captured a rhino and an elephant with pink horn and tusks, respectively.
Among the posts we found in the Russian -speaking segment of the network, the recording of the public “Zen” in VKontakte was most very dispersed: she Published In 2020 and at 345,000 views, she received 13,000 likes and 300 reposts. These publications are found in other large communities on VKontakte (examples here, here And here), as well as on Twitter (here, here And here) and on the Picabu, where in 2015 a post about an elephant with pink tusks Sicked 6700 pluses. In addition, sometimes Markthat this is a simple and ingenious way of combating poaching.
Back in 2015, during the active distribution of news about the new way of animal protection, the Metro publication took comments The experts. “There are such people among animal defenders who paint tusks and horns to animals,” said Elena Zharkova, spokeswoman for the International Protection of Animals. - But the ivory is a very strong material that is soaked with paint only from above, in the depths of the ink tusks cannot go through. Then it will be polished and sold in the end. The zoactivists will not paint it through. Can you imagine what it is to approach an adult male who has huge tusks and paint in pink? This operation is on the verge of life and death, it is very difficult to do. That is, the effectiveness of such a salvation of the elephant population is minimal. ” The chairman of the Bonist Union, Alexander Baranov, confirmed that the “monetary paint” would not be able to absorb so deeply: “Outside, it will paint it, maybe even a millimeter of this paint will absorb. But the tusk of the elephant is like a person’s teeth - it will be painted outside, but they are not porous, this is not a sponge. ”
In fact, at least one organization of animal protection - Rhino Rescue Project (“Project to Salvation of rhinos”), operating in the Sabi Sand Game Reservu reserve - in an attempt to stop the poaching really applies pink dye, similar On the one that is used in the banking sector. However, in the above-mentioned Internet publications there are a number of inaccuracies.
To begin with, the colors in the photo do not reflect the real result of the processing of horns. According to site The project, a “connection consisting of ectoparasiticides and indelible dye is added to the horn, it pollutes the horn and makes it unsuitable for use for decorative or medical purposes.” When a viral photograph of a rhino with a pink (rather, even a purple) horn back in 2013 Published On the Take Part website, the picture accompanied the signature that “the photo was subjected to digital processing” and that this is not a real image of the animal. You can verify this by comparing the picture with the original, placed On the site of the Getty Images photo agent.
IN section With answers to the frequently asked questions on the Rhino Rescue Project, there is a comment regarding incorrect publications on social networks. According to the explanation of the authors of the project, they are glad that the concept of depreciation of horns as a preventive measure to combat poaching has gained recognition and distribution on the network. However, they regretfully noted that most of the interest in the initiative is based on embellishment and misinformation, and viral photos lead to unrealistic expectations regarding how this method works.
The truth is that the depreciation of horns is a much more complex process than just staining the surface in pink (or any other, for that matter). Focusing attention on one element of a comprehensive strategy without taking into account all the others not only misleads, since it diminishes the complexity of the procedure, but can also be potentially dangerous for both animals and people. No buyer or consumer of the rhino horns is recommended to eat or use processed horns just because they do not have external signs of depreciation. Our current studies have led to the use of newer technologies such as radioactive isotopes, so we rely not only on the infusion of toxins and dyes. For that matter, then these new technologies should be discussed and promoted in society, and not an outdated and often incorrectly understood methodology.
At the end of the response, the authors formulate a resume in the form of two separate points with an explanation of the reasons why the rhino horns will not be pink:
- The color will not be visible shortly after processing and will not serve as a frightening factor, since animals clean their horns daily and lie in the mud;
- A noticeable staining of horns will make all the other animals in a population without painted horns with an even more desirable target for poachers.
According to schemes And photo, given on the Rhino Rescue Project website, a tubular structure in which substances can be introduced under high pressure in the horns of the rhino. Before the start procedures The animal is loving by a tranquilizer, then holes are drilled in the horn, where special probes and valves are installed through which the connection is introduced. The check valve holds the liquid in a horn under a pressure of about 30 bar for ten days, ensuring the penetration of the liquid into deep areas of the internal structure. By data Project, all used substances are environmentally friendly, biodegradable and safe for animals. Processing should remain effective for a full horror growth cycle (approximately three to four years), after which a repeated procedure is required.
Also in the social networks of the project There is Several unchanged photos with animals after the procedure. They can see that stains from a glorified substance remain on the horns. At the same time on the site indicatedWhat sometimes did not use paint in procedures at all, so that some animals had no color changes even inside the horn.
In addition to the fact that the dye changes the color of the internal structure of the horn, it is also toxic for a person. Co -founder project Lorina Hern in 2015 toldthat poachers can earn serious health problems depending on the dose taken: “At least diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, severe headache can begin to problems with the nervous system that may remain forever. Some ectoparasiticides also provoke the development of cancer at later stages of life. ”
Braciers in advance warn On the presence of the rhinos of poisoned horns through more than two hundred signs along the perimeter of the reserve. In addition, according to the authors of the project, if poachers do not pay attention to the unnatural color of the internal structure, even a processed horn chopped into small powder will not be able to go unnoticed through many control and checkpoints (in particular, at airports) due to the visual marking system.
It is important to note that the technology and methods of Rhino Rescue Project have repeatedly been criticized. For example, on the website of the International Fund for Protection of Animals there are article About the inappropriateness and dangers of such an approach to protection against poachers. The effectiveness of the horn poisoning technique and the South African Service Service of National Parks. “This strategy will never help in the fight against poaching, because we have so many rhinos that we will not even be able to catch them. But I think that this will be a good measure for those who have few rhinos ” - Explained Representative of the Kruger National Park William Mabas.
On the site of the organization Save the Rhino ("Save the rhino") published Materials, according to which the Rhino Rescue Project method does not work at all: it is reported that the samples taken from the horns a month after processing did not find the visible color change. According to representatives of Save The Rhino, the rhino horn is not porous and the liquid compound does not penetrate all over the horn. In other words, a mixture of poison and dye remains in drilled holes, which allows you to relatively easily clean the horn if it is really eaten.
As for the image of an elephant with pink tusks, it was also processed in a graphic editor. A true photo of an animal with natural tusks for at least 17 years: it can be found on British sites Open University And BBC Radio 4 In the materials for 2005. We could not find examples of the procedure for painting or poisoning of elephant tusks.
Thus, the authors of the publications we consider distorted and greatly simplified the actually existing, albeit often criticized practice in protecting the rhinos, accompanying the materials with falsified photographs.
Photo on the cover: Take Part photo monitoring
Most of the untruth
- Is it true that elephants are the only mammals who do not know how to jump?
- Is the photograph in which the elephant carries in the trunk of a lion cub is true?
- Is it true that elephants are afraid of mice?
- Is it true that in Finland the deer paint horns with reflective paint to reduce the number of accidents with them?
- Snopes. Arere Rhinos and Eleephants Getting Pink Horns to Prevent Poaching?
If you find a spelling or grammatical error, please inform us of this, highlighting the text with an error and by pressing Ctrl+Enter.
