The emblematic rhinoceros horns are becoming more and more discreet.
This is the finding of four scientists whose research has been published in the Journal of People and Nature.
This new study spotted by Slate
warning about shrinking rhino horns over the past 140 years.
This transformation would be due to an adaptation of the species, confronted with intensive poaching.
By studying pictures of rhinos taken for more than a century, wildlife specialists realized that the size of their horns was getting smaller and smaller.
And all species are concerned.
Difficulties to survive
According to the researchers, the fault lies with the poachers who naturally select the animals with the most impressive horns.
"Preferential hunting selection for individuals with larger horns or tusks has allowed individuals with smaller traits to survive and reproduce more, passing those traits on to future generations and driving evolutionary change," they explain. in their report.
But this genetic modification has serious consequences for the main parties concerned, specifies the media Vice.
Rhinos with short horns have more difficulty protecting their territory and defending themselves, and even finding a mate.
Moreover, it is a real vicious circle: the more the rhinos have small horns, the more the poachers will want to slaughter a large number of animals in order to obtain the same final quantity.
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Rhinoceros
Poaching
Animals