(ORDO NEWS) — A team of biologists from the University of Cambridge found that rhino horns have become significantly smaller in recent decades.
Researchers attribute this to the activities of poachers.
Scientists came to this conclusion after analyzing photographs of white, black, Indian, Javanese and Sumatran rhinos taken between 1886 and 2018.
To determine the size of the horns, scientists measured the length of the body and head of the animals.
It turned out that the length of the horns over the past 100 years has gradually decreased in all species of rhinos.
The poachers who prey on individuals with large horns are to blame for this trend.
Because of this, animals with smaller horns had more opportunities to continue the genus and pass on their genes to their descendants.
However, according to scientists, this can negatively affect animals, since large horns help rhinos to more effectively forage for food and protect themselves from predators.
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