African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1285: Chapter 294: Rhino Garden

”Of course, don’t be timid in doing things; just get them in the bowl first, it’s nothing more than extra travel expenses,” Ernst finally advised.

Even if these people can stay to the point of one tenth, it would be a gain for East Africa. Maureen understood this principle and said, ”Yes, Your Majesty.”

The National Defense Security Bureau has done this sort of thing numerous times over the years, most famously rescuing Archduke Ferdinand from Mexico back in the day.

It has to be said, this generation of the Habsburg family has had good longevity; both Emperor Franz and his brother Ferdinand are still alive.

Historically, Emperor Franz couldn’t hold on by the end of 1916, but now he’s acting as the stabilizing force for Austria-Hungary, after all, he hasn’t experienced the grief of losing a son nor the dire war situations of his previous life, making him considerably more robust than he was.

And in East Africa, Archduke Ferdinand, Ernst’s father-in-law, who was also the former Emperor of Mexico Maximiliano I, is in even better health than Franz.

He was originally younger than Franz, and after retirement, his life is much more relaxed than Emperor Franz’s, and he can still travel around East Africa with the Duchess.

...

By Lake Malawi.

Malawi Lake Rhino Garden.

Archduke Ferdinand: ”Are these the Far East rhinos you’re breeding?”

The staff at the Rhino Garden introduced the archduke and duchess without any neglect: ”Yes, Your Grace, we currently have eighty-two Sumatran rhinos living in this park, and they are one of the three remaining species of Far East rhinos.”

”The first batch of Sumatran rhinos we introduced was in 1886, originally only three, then gradually seventeen more, and now these eighty-two are all bred and nurtured by our park.”

Far East rhinos, or Asian rhinos, consist of three species: Sumatran rhinos, Indian rhinos, and Javan rhinos.

As for why they are called Far East rhinos, the main reason is that these three species were once distributed in the Far East Empire; of course, nowadays, rhinos of the Far East Empire have basically become extinct, the remaining numbers being too few to support their population breeding.

The staff continued: ”Our country’s introduced Sumatra rhinos are mainly from the South Sea Region, including Vietnam, Siam, the East Indies, and the Lanfang Overseas Province.”

”And now, this park could be one of the largest living areas for Sumatran rhinos in the world because, in recent years, due to slaughter and legal void, the number of Sumatran rhinos in the South Sea Region has decreased significantly.”

”However, since the Lanfang Overseas Province and East Kalimantan area have been incorporated into our country, at least we can ensure the number of Sumatran rhinos and Javan rhinos in our country won’t decline too quickly.”

”We have seven rhino breeding centers domestically, encompassing the world’s only five species of rhinos, with domestic white rhinos and black rhinos being relatively common, numbering in the tens of thousands. Meanwhile, the three species of Far East rhinos altogether in East Africa, including colonies, probably don’t exceed a thousand.”

East Africa has two native rhino species: white rhinos and black rhinos, which are unique to the African continent, and these two species are mainly distributed domestically in East Africa.

These two rhinos are currently the world’s most populous rhino species, whereas the survival status of the Sumatran rhino, Javan rhino, and Indian rhino is quite concerning.

Take the Indian rhino, for example, now it might number only three hundred worldwide, distributed in India, Nepal, East Africa, perhaps in the Far East Empire.

Of course, the Indian rhinos in East Africa are evidently not wild; they were introduced from India last century and have been cultivated artificially, with East Africa’s Indian rhino breeding base established in the Mozambique area.

Princess Charlotte said: ”These Sumatran rhinos seem not much different from our domestic rhinos!”

The staff responded: ”Rhinos generally look quite similar, and both Sumatran rhinos and East Africa’s rhinos have two horns. Conversely, Indian rhinos and Javan rhinos only have one horn, so we suspect that Sumatran rhinos may be more closely related to East Africa’s two rhino species. However, some scholars believe that Sumatran rhinos are more closely related to the other two Far East rhinos, from the perspective of distribution habitat.”

”Of course, in terms of quantity and size, our native rhinos are more superior; we brought in the other three rhino species mainly to research the medicinal value of their horns.”

”Initially, the introduction of Far East rhinos was led by the East African Traditional Chinese Medicine Association.”

At the time, Far East rhinos were introduced to address a curious incident: which species of rhino’s horns were traditionally used in Far East Empire medicine!

Even though Far East Empire rhinos have now become almost extinct, when they passed some prescriptions, the East African Traditional Chinese Medicine Association could not determine which rhino horn was used back then.

So, East Africa simply included all three Far East Empire rhino species; last century, even though Far East rhinos were already scarce, spending more money could still find them.

This was indeed a helpless matter since there’s a huge global demand for rhino horns; Far East countries regard rhino horns as great medicine, and in Europe and America and the Arab region, rare rhino horns are also expensive decorations.

The staff continued: ”Initially, we established three Sumatran rhino breeding bases, but only the rhino garden by Lake Malawi succeeded.”

”With Lake Malawi adjacent, mountainous terrain to the east minimizes external disturbances, materials mainly transported via water from the lake maintain the isolation needed; in the future, the Sumatran rhino population here will increase.”

Although extensive industrial development surrounds Lake Malawi, there still remains a large undeveloped area, especially in the surrounding mountains.

The environment resembles Sumatra Island or Kalimantan Island, where Sumatran rhinos are native, which actually suggests their adaptability was historically widespread in the Far East and South Sea Region.

The main threats facing Asian rhinos’ survival boil down to three factors: rhino horn trade, the impact of human development activities, and climate change.

These three instances are most notable in the Far East Empire; granted, historically, Far East Empire was among the first to treat rhinos as a strategic resource. Secondly, Far East Empire’s large population further compounded the issue. Lastly, significant climate change characterizes the Far East Empire.

The critical downfall of Far East Empire rhinos happened in just recent decades; during the Qing Dynasty, the Far East Empire’s population peaked while firearms made hunting rhinos much simpler.

As for the South Sea, India, etc., the survival of rhinos there isn’t because people in these places are more noble, but rather because their civilization is relatively backward.

Low population density also means less impact on rhino habitats; by the previous life 21st century century, with increased population in the South Sea Region, Sumatran and Javan rhinos were nearly extinct, contrasted by Indian rhinos populace recovering from just over two hundred to nearly four or five thousand.

India relatively stands out because many large wild animals haven’t become extinct, arguably due to India’s religious culture.

Clearly, with East Africa’s presence, we can foresee East Africa continuing as the world’s number one rhino-populated country, solely having over forty thousand white rhinos domestically alone, including the once extinct northern white rhino.

Previously, the last northern white rhino went extinct in Kenya, but now there are thousands in East Africa.

Early on, East Africa did trade resources like ivory, leather, and rhino horns with other countries, leading to tremendous loss, but by last century’s end, the shift toward industrial development began to constrain the clearing activities of wild animals in East Africa.

Importantly, post-industrial shift, agricultural expansion in East Africa entered a growth stagnation phase, reducing land demand, which in turn led to increased conservation areas in East Africa.