Price

• On the black market, rhino horn sells for about $5,000 per kilogram (2.2 lbs.), while elephant ivory sells for about $3,000 per kilogram.
  
  

History

• In the 1970s, black rhinos numbered well over 60,000 across Africa, but MSNBC reported that the black rhino population in southern Africa was down to 3,600 in 2009 because of poaching.
  
  

Geography

• Black rhinos inhabit the eastern and southern portions of Africa, but the demand for the rhino horn is primarily in Asia. In 2009, a shipment of ivory worth $1 million was seized on its way to Laos, but officials suspect that the ivory ultimately would have been taken to China.
  
  

Function

• Black ivory is often used to make jewelry or other ornaments, including elaborate dagger handles. Also, some traditional Chinese medicines still require rhino horn.
  
  

Prevention/Solution

• In addition to avoiding the purchase of black rhino horn, the International Rhino Foundation also recommends living a greener lifestyle to reduce the role humans play in habitat destruction. The foundation offers symbolic adoptions of black rhinos.