The First Ever Rhino Horn NFT.

#ZA908220119RH is the first NFT of a rhinoceros horn and the first official Conservation NFT ever created in collaboration with Black Rock Rhino Conservation, in South Africa.

​

The population of rhino protected by government in South Africa’s national and provincial parks has collapsed by an estimated 90% in the last decade - from 18 000 in 2011 to an estimated 2 000 now. Fortunately, over that same ten years, the number of rhino on private conservancies has grown to more than three times the 3,500 from a decade ago, to almost 10,500 rhino now running wild under private protection.  There is real hope in the fight to save the rhino, but that hope urgently needs our help.
 
Conservation of rhinos involves expensive security, veterinary intervention, and supplemental feeding in times of drought. That work requires millions of dollars each year. The government efforts that have suffered such severe losses are funded by taxes and international donations.  The private efforts that have succeeded are not.  And the brave families that have shouldered this burden are in need of help.
 
Experts estimate that more than thirty percent of all rhino mortalities over and above poaching are caused by rhino-on-rhino violence.  To stop these unnecessary deaths, and to minimise the attraction to poachers, private conservationists, and now even government reserves, trim the sharp ends of the horns. Because the horn grows back quickly, and rhino live over forty years, these trimming efforts must be repeated many times in a rhino’s life.
 
Now, thanks to the emerging technologies of the block chain, we have an opportunity to turn those trimmed horns into an engine for conservation.
 
When the specialised team from Black Rock Rhino Conservation – one of the world’s largest private efforts to save rhino – dart each rhino selected for trimming, the tranquilized animal is scanned for a microchip embedded in its shoulder. If this is the first time the animal’s horn is trimmed, a new microchip is injected, and hair and blood samples are collected and sent to the lab. The microchip is logged on the national RhODIS database, allowing the conservation experts at Black Rock Rhino Conservation, and their colleagues at the University of Pretoria’s Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, to match each animal to its unique DNA sequence and full life history. That DNA record facilitates the practices necessary to ensure maximum genetic heterogeneity of future generations, and ensures that every piece of horn trimmed from this animal can be traced back, if ever found in trade.
 
After animals are trimmed in this ethical manner, each horn is measured, weighed, and photographed from all angles, with the collected data uploaded to the RhODIS record associated with that animal. Material is removed from the horn for DNA testing to validate its origin. A unique microchip is inserted into a drilled hole, facilitating rapid identification of the horn whenever necessary. And a government assigned “ZA” number is written on the horn to mark its specific identity, weight, and date of collection. Every horn is then stored in a secure environment, and may only be moved if government permission is granted.
 
Two years later, the horn has grown back, and the animal is due to be trimmed once again.
 
Each horn displays unique patterns of growth and colouration. Horns from males tend to be larger, and often more dense. Younger animals display growth that is almost entirely black across the cut surface, while older animals will have an abundance of whiter horn around the retained core of black. This darker core often manifests in the shape of a heart, but each pattern is distinctive.
 
The First Ever Rhino Horn NFT #ZA908220119RH is certified under RhODIS®️ Case number RR006499.  The source is a male, in the prime of his life.