The Wild Africa precinct is already underway,with the project expected to be completedsometime in 2022. The development willallow Monarto to continue its work with theAustralian Rhino Project, whose mission is tobring African rhinos to Australia to establish an“insurance population” to ensure their survival.The rhino population is under threat because ofthe black market value of their horns.“Their horns are worth a lot of money eventhough they're just keratin, they don't offerany therapeutical or other benefits, they'rejust fingernails. But they're worth up to about70,000 US dollars a kilogram on the blackmarket, which is more than cocaine,” said Peter.“We want to not only support counter-poachingactivities in Africa, but we also want to buildup a reasonable-sized insurance population ofrhinos in Australia and New Zealand. That'swhy we started working with the AustralianRhino Project, a group of individuals who arevery interested in the same thing.”The target is to build Monarto’s rhinopopulation to 30-40 white rhinos and ten36THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDEblack rhinos, and Wild Africa is being built toaccommodate this. Getting them here is anexpensive exercise. Australia’s strict biosecuritylaws require quarantining the animals in NewZealand before moving them to a quarantinefacility at Monarto.As one of his favourite animals at the zoo, Peter ispassionate about rhino's survival..“They’re big, and I guess dinosaur-like andhelpless. They are a reminder of the megafaunaof the past and I think losing them would be very,very sad. It'd be like losing elephants to me, I can'timagine our children not being able to see them,”he said.Peter grew up in Adelaide, attending StPeter’s College before studying Agriculture atRoseworthy college in 1970, sparking a keeninterest in entomology. Roseworthy was an allboys college at the time, and he describes himselfas a young and naïve boy from Adelaide whoquickly adjusted to the college lifestyle.“There was a lot of college spirit there becauseeverybody followed sports and lived together.There were 11 pubs around Roseworthy between
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