2971) "Southern White Rhinoceros," Australia: "Australian Zoo Coin Series": The Royal Australian Mint (RAM) has issued the Fourth $100 (One Hundred Dollars - Gold) and $1 (One Dollar - Silver) Bullion Coins in the Series: Date/Year of Coin issue: 2023:
The Royal Australian Mint (RAM), in coordination with the Australia Zoo, has brought out the fourth design in its popular Gold and Silver one-ounce Bullion Coin Series titled - “Australia Zoo,” which features some of the more popular residents.
This year’s coins featuring the southern white rhinoceros follow last year with the African and Asian elephant, the cheetah in 2021, and the Sumatran tiger in 2020. The Royal Australian Mint and Australia Zoo work closely with conservation organisations in Africa to help protect these important and critically endangered species.
The Southern White Rhinoceros ("Ceratotherium simum simum"):
The Southern White Rhinoceros or Southern White Rhino ("Ceratotherium simum simum") is one of the two subspecies of the white rhinoceros (the other being the much rarer - the Northern White Rhinoceros). It is the most common and widespread subspecies of rhinoceros.
The Southern White Rhino lives in the grasslands, savannahs, and shrublands of Southern Africa, ranging from South Africa to Zambia.
About 98.5% of Southern White Rhino live in just five countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda.
In July 2019, a southern white rhinoceros' calf was born at the Australia Zoo. The male calf was part of the extensive breeding programme, which is part of maintaining the species’ population without having to introduce new breeding couples taken from the wild.
Kingston, whose name was chosen by one of the Zoo’s sponsors, OZTENT, is the healthy offspring of Caballe, born in 1999, and resident bull, Ganini, born in 2002.
Kingston is often found grazing with his mother Caballe or running amok on the African Savannah enclosure at Australia Zoo.
He is now four years old, still full of adolescent energy, and loves life at Australia Zoo.
Kingston and his mother were photographed by nineteen-year-old Robert Irwin, an award-winning talented photographer specialising in wildlife. He is the son of the late Steve Irwin, known as “the crocodile hunter.” Robert also works alongside his family at the Australia Zoo in research and rescuing animals of all kinds.
Conservation status:
The Southern White Rhino is listed as "Near Threatened (NT)" by the International Union for Conservaton of Nature (IUCN).
It is mostly threatened by habitat loss and poaching for rhino horn for use in traditional Chinese medicine.
The Southern White Rhino was nearly extinct near the end of the 19th century having been reduced to a population of approximately 20–50 animals in KwaZulu-Natal due to sport hunting and land clearance.
Numbers increased rapidly from 1992 to 2010, due to intensive protection and translocation efforts, however population growth then slowed as poaching increased, with numbers declining from 2012 to 2017.
An approximate 15% decline in estimated numbers between 2012 and 2017 was primarily due to reductions in populations within South Africa's Kruger National Park.
Poaching rates peaked in 2014 and as of December 2017, there were an estimated 18,064 southern white rhino in the wild with populations being assessed as Near Threatened since 2002.
White rhino trophy hunting was legalised and regulated in 1968, and after initial miscalculations is now generally seen to have assisted in the species' recovery by providing incentives for landowners to boost rhino populations.
The subspecies is protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meaning international import/export (including in parts/derivatives) is regulated by the CITES permit system.
Populations of South Africa, Eswatini and Namibia are listed in CITES Appendix II with strict conditions while all other populations are listed in CITES Appendix I.
Introduction/reintroduction projects:
There are small, reintroduced populations within the historical range of the southern white rhinoceros in Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and in the southwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while a small population survives in Mozambique.
Populations have also been introduced outside of the former range of the species to Kenya, Uganda and Zambia, where their northern relatives used to occur.
The Southern White Rhinoceros has also been reintroduced into the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Uganda, and in the Lake Nakuru National Park and the Kigio Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya.
The Coins:
Designed by Adam Ball, the Reverses of both gold and silver investment coins are based on photographs of two different images of the Southern White Rhinoceros.
On the Reverse the $100 (One Hundred Dollars) Gold Coin is modelled on an actual photograph of the calf Kingston and mother Caballe taken by Robert Irwin.
Both animals are residing at the African Savannah enclosure in Australia Zoo.
Above the primary design is the inscription - "AUSTRALIA ZOO WHITE SOUTHERN RHINOCEROS" along with the coins’ specifications of "1 oz .9999 Au", which is shown towards the lower periphery.
On the Reverse of the $1 (One Dollar) Silver Coin is depicted a head shot of the Southern White Rhinoceros, which in the wild typically are seen with oxpeckers, a black-feathered bird that routinely hitches a ride atop a rhino.
They are known to maintain a symbiotic relationship with Africa’s white and black rhinos by eating the little insects found on their skin.
Above the main design is the inscription - "AUSTRALIA ZOO. SOUTHERN WHITE RHIONCEROS", along with the coins’ specifications of "1 oz .999 Ag.", shown towards the lower periphery.
Both the Gold and Silver coins include a right facing effigy of Late Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022) designed by Jody Clark whose initials "JC" appear on the Queen's shoulder.
On the outer periphery is the inscription - ELIZABETH II 1952-2022. AUSTRALIA, 2023" and the Coin's denomination.
The Coin has been issued in Gold and Silver Bullion Investment Variants:
i) The specifications of the 100 Dollars Gold Coin are:
Country: Australia; Date/Year of Coin issue: 2023; Denomination: $100 (One Hundred Dollars); Coin Series Theme: "Australian Zoo"; Coin Theme: "Southern White Rhinoceros"; Metal Composition: .9999 Fineness Gold (Au); Weight: 31.1 grams or 1.00 Oz; Diameter/Size: 38.74 mm; Coin Quality: Brilliant Uncirculated/Bullion (BUB); Mint: Royal Australian Mint (RAM); Mintage: 250 pieces; Designer: Adam Ball (Reverse), Jody Clark (Obverse).
ii) The specifications of the 1 Dollar Silver Coin are:
Country: Australia; Date/Year of Coin issue: 2023; Denomination: $1 (One Dollar); Coin Series Theme: "Australian Zoo"; Coin Theme: "Southern White Rhinoceros"; Metal Composition: .999 Fineness Silver (Ag); Weight: 31.1 grams or 1.00 Oz; Diameter/Size: 40.00 mm; Coin Quality: Brilliant Uncirculated/Bullion (BUB); Mint: Royal Australian Mint (RAM); Mintage: 25,000 pieces; Designer: Adam Ball (Reverse), Jody Clark (Obverse).
- Each Silver Brilliant Uncirculated Coin is individually encapsulated.
- The Gold Coin is encapsulated and presented in a custom case accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (COA).
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