Vince (rhinoceros)

Vince (22 September 2012 – 5 March 2017) was a Southern white rhinoceros who was killed by poachers inside a zoo in Thoiry near Paris, France.

Vince
SpeciesSouthern White Rhinoceros
SexMale
Born(2012-09-22)22 September 2012
Royal Burgers' Zoo, Arnhem, The Netherlands
Died5 March 2017(2017-03-05) (aged 4)
Parc Zoologique de Thoiry, Thoiry, Yvelines, France
Known forFirst rhinoceros to be illegally killed inside a zoo in Europe[1][2]

Birth and life

Vince was born on 22 September 2012 at Royal Burgers' Zoo, Arnhem, Netherlands. He was the second calf produced by 12-year-old Kwanzaa and her 20-year-old mate Gilou. Vince was born six weeks premature.[3][4] On 6 November 2012 he was introduced to other safari animals at the Zoo.[5]

In March 2015, Vince and another rhinoceros Bruno were transferred to Parc Zoologique de Thoiry in France.[6] He lived in an enclosure with two other rhinoceroses, Bruno and Gracie.[7] The three animals bonded, and Vince and Bruno, who were the same age, often played together.[8]

Killing

On 5 March 2017, Vince was shot three times and killed by poachers. They stole one of his horns after sawing it off with a chainsaw, and partially sawed off his second horn.[9][10][7][11][12][13] Rhinoceros horns are used in traditional Chinese medicine and Asian cultures,[14] and a single horn can be sold for up to $300,000 on the black market.[15]

On his death, Thierry Duguet, the head of the zoo, said "There has never been a case like this in a zoo in Europe, an assault of such violence, evidently for this stupid trafficking of rhinoceros horns".[10] French Minister Ségolène Royal called the killing a "criminal act."[10]

References
  1. Forster, Katie (8 March 2017). "Poachers break into Paris zoo, shoot rhino dead and steal its horn". The Independent. Retrieved 8 March 2017. This is thought to be the first time in Europe a live animal living in captivity has been killed by poachers.
  2. Samuel, Henry (7 March 2017). "'Heinous' poachers break into Paris zoo and shoot white rhino three times in the head for its horn". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 March 2017. Thierry Duquet, the zoo director, said that the "extremely shocking" attack was a first in Europe.
  3. "Dutch zoo welcomes brand new baby white rhino". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  4. Gates, Sara (26 September 2012). "Rare White Rhino 'Vince' Born Prematurely At Burgers' Zoo, Netherlands (VIDEO)". Retrieved 6 April 2017 – via Huff Post.
  5. Limited, Alamy. "Stock Photo - The white rhinoceros Vince of Burgers' Zoo in the Dutch city Arnhem and born in September, plunged his self Thuesday [sic] (6-11-2012) into a new adventure. For the first time in his". alamy.com. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  6. "ARNHEM - In Burgers' Zoo in the Dutch city Arnhem the 2.5 year old white rhinoceros Vince was Monday 9-3-2015 loaded and put on transport to the animal zoo Thoyry in France". alamy.com. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  7. Willsher, Kim (7 March 2017). "Rhino shot dead by poachers at French zoo". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  8. "At Blair Drummond Safari Park we have been part of the European Endangered Species Programme – EEP – since the early 2000s". blairdrummond.com. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  9. "White rhino shot dead in French zoo, horn sawn off". Reuters. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  10. Breeden, Aurelien (7 March 2017). "Rhinoceros Is Killed for Its Horn at Wildlife Park Near Paris". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  11. "Poachers Break Into French Zoo, Kill White Rhino And Steal His Horn". NPR.org. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  12. "Poachers kill rhino for his horn at French zoo". BBC News. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  13. "Poachers Kill Rhino in Brazen Attack at French Zoo". 7 March 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  14. Hsu, Jeremy. "The Hard Truth about the Rhino Horn "Aphrodisiac" Market". scientificamerican.com. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  15. "White rhino Vince in Paris zoo shot dead, horn hacked off". theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
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