Sheer numbers also make it harder for predators like hyenas or jackals to identify individual victims.Īs such, a single flamingo is not a happy flamingo. Mass synchronized nesting gives flamingos the best possible chance to raise the maximum number of chicks, while on choppy days a dense mass of birds swimming together also helps create the optimal feeding environment (still water) within the center of the group. Million-strong gatherings provide several benefits. With few other animals able to cope in such conditions, there is minimal competition for food, and these toxic wetlands are home to massive flocks.

South African ranchers are dehorning rhinos. AFP / MUJAHID SAFODIEN (Photo credit should read MUJAHID SAFODIEN/AFP/Getty Images) MUJAHID SAFODIEN/AFP/AFP/Getty Images Figures compiled by the South African Department of Environmental affairs show the dramatic escalation in poaching over recent years. However, rhino poaching has reached a crisis point, and if the killing continues at this rate, we could see rhino deaths overtaking births in 2016-2018, meaning rhinos could go extinct in the very near future. South Africa has by far the largest population of rhinos in the world and is an incredibly important country for rhino conservation. His private game ranch, started in 1992, has approximately 1000 rhinos, all of whom have been dehorned. Millionaire, John Hume is a private rhino owner/breeder in South Africa, who strongly advocates for legalising trade. A de-horned rhino roams on the field at John Hume's Rhino Ranch in Klerksdorp, in the North Western Province of South Africa, on February 3, 2016.

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