King Without a Throne: Poached or Dehorned by Haider Khan

The persistent human desire for rhino horn – for everything from traditional medicines to hangover cures or status symbols – drives the slaughter of more than 1,000 of these majestic animals each year in South Africa. To protect them from poachers, some rhinos are now deliberately dehorned, something that is considered a necessary evil by anti-poaching campaigners in Africa. However, while cutting off a rhino’s horn prevents poaching, it also changes their behaviour and affects their ability to interact or establish territory. Either way, they are the ones that suffer.

With this series I want to share the painful story of two rhinos, one living in Munich, Germany, and the other in Kolkata, India. Despite being separated by thousands of miles, these beautiful creatures have a shared past: both of them have been stripped of their once-proud horn, symbolising the harm that humans can inflict upon wildlife.