Second poem in the ‘Black and White, Wild and Wooly’ series for World Rhino Day - ‘Into the White’, Northern White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni).
This was a hard poem to write based on a hard image to see - Ami Vitale’s haunting image of the last goodbye to Sudan, the last male Northern White Rhino. The name of the poem came easily, but the rest resisted all attempts for maybe 18 months. A couple of weeks ago I made the upcoming World Rhino Day a deadline to finish and publish it as part of this series.
My commentary is in the poem. Here is Ami’s (from her Instagram account)…
‘Saying goodbye to Sudan was one of the hardest moments of my life. On that day in March, 2018, we were witnessing not just the death of this majestic creature and the functional extinction of a subspecies, but also watching our own demise. We need to start recognising that our fate is linked to the fate of animals. Without Rhinos and all wildlife, we will suffer more than the loss of ecosystem health. We will suffer a loss of our own imagination, a loss of wonder, a loss of beautiful possibilities. I hope that this moment will mark a moment when humanity recognises how interconnected we all really are.’
Efforts are underway to rescue the species through genetic science, and several embryos have been achieved, with a view to one day finding a surrogate Southern White Rhino to re-establish the Northern White subspecies. If it does not succeed, there are only the two ageing daughters of Sudan still alive - Naijin and Fatu, being cared for and guarded by Ol Pejeta - functionally extinct and awaiting the inevitable.
Ami has made a film about Sudan - find details and the story of ‘The Last Goodbye’ on her website
#intothewhitepoem
#NorthernWhiteRhino #functionallyextinct
A Note from Chris Jim who found a unique way to support his family.
My name it's Chris Jim, I was born in Zimbabwe on 12/04/1976. I am the last born of a family of 8. My father Andria Jim died when I was 3 years so I was raised by my mother Maria Kim and my elder brothers. My brothers used to make cars and pushing toys out of wire, that's when I started and they taught me how to make my cars from wires. When I went to school I started to attend craft lessons from then it was my passion to make anything from wire. Still at school during weekends I used to go and sell my wires in the streets of Harare to the tourists. When I finished school there were no jobs at home so I kept on making my wire art and selling in the streets from there I didn't look back till now I am surviving from my art works. I am living in South Africa in Johannesburg, I am married to Janet Fire, and we are blessed with 3 children, Ashley, Andrew and Adrian Jim. I am teaching them how one can create jobs from art.
Thank u for supporting my work, Please visit: mojostreamingwildlife.com USE CODE FreeShip for free shipping and save $40.00 until December 23, 2023 Allow 10-14 days for shipping
Regards Chris Jim
From tigers in Asia to elephants in Africa, wildlife crimes only seem to make the news when it concerns rare and exotic species and high-value animal parts like rhino horns.
But there’s no need to cross the ocean to find the pervasive and persistent problem of poaching and links to an international black market. Poaching for specific high-demand animal parts to feed the demand of a nefarious underworld of dealers, merchants and buyers is widespread in the U.S., its fingers extending to nearly all parts of the country.
And with any criminal enterprise, it’s the money that supplies the motive. For example, the American black bear has long been poached for its hide, paws, gallbladder, and bile, mainly due to their use in Eastern medicine. (Gallbladder and bile are often used to treat diseases of the heart and kidneys.) Undercover operations have found single dried bear gallbladders fetching as much as $30,000 on the black market.
But it’s not just the American black bear that’s under siege. The horns of ram sheep can sell for more than $20,000 on the black market. The bighorn sheep, which largely resides in the area between the San Jacinto Mountains and the U.S.-Mexico border, has been on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species list since 1998. Although land development and disease have been the major contributors to the dwindling of this species, poaching is only putting more nails in the coffin. These sheep are usually found in remote areas, making it a challenge for game wardens to patrol and monitor poaching activity.
Shark fins are also highly valued in Eastern cultures, making poaching off the coast of California a major problem, despite the fact that selling or distributing shark fins is illegal under California’s Shark Fin Law. When a great deal of money is at stake, the crimes continue. A single shark fin can sell for $500 in China, where it is used to make shark fin soup, a delicacy. It is estimated that there are more than 100 million shark deaths every year due to shark finning: the practice of catching a shark, slicing off only the coveted fins, then tossing the animal back overboard to die a slow and painful death To read the full article visit: gamewarden.org
We have a serious problem of illegal hunting in the U.S. and the NRA is NOT holding their original standards which was about gun SAFETY AND TRAINING. NRA became the only national trainer of law enforcement officers with the introduction of its NRA Police Firearms Instructor certification program in 1960. In civilian training, the NRA continues to be the leader in firearms education. Over 125,000 certified instructors now train about 1,000,000 gun owners a year. Courses are available in basic rifle, pistol, shotgun, muzzleloading firearms, personal protection, even ammunition reloading. Additionally, nearly 7,000 certified coaches are specially trained to work with young competitive shooters. The focus now is more about fighting for gun rights, money and political power. Safety means nothing to the NRA. By the NRA getting away from their roots has created a very dangerous gun problem in the United States.
Another problem in the U.S. is Texas
Of the 1,525 seizures that FWS recorded at the U.S.-Mexico border from January 2020 to September 11, 2023, more than 85 percent occurred in Texas, accounting for 17,317 animals and exotic animal parts—such as a South African ostrich and shark bones. Learn more here:
The biggest organization that is a threat to our wildlife is Safar Club International with their trophy hunting AND Hunting contests! Learn more at
To read about Wildlife Crime and Corruption in the U.S. follow Cami Ciotta's newsletters at linkedin.com
To support our fight to educate people the need to protect our wildlife please donate $5.00 at wildlifebroadcast.com
or visit our store and make a purchase at mojostreamingwildlife.com
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I have been following the story of Hvaldimir the Beluga Whale and was inspired to write this Saga to try to influence the ending, by rallying some resources to finally get him to a place of safety. He’s lost, far from home and very far from safe. You can keep up with the latest on the OneWhale socials. There are 6 Chapters so far, and now he is in Sweden. Here is Chapter 1.
Images: One Whale
OneWhale: https://www.onewhale.org/
My Website: https://www.theonemillionpoetry.com/
