China / Tibet: A Buddhist Monk with a rhinoceros horn, Samye, 1938. Photo by Ernst Schafer (1910-1992), Bundesarchiv, 1938 (CC BY-SA 3.0 License)

Rhinoceros horns, unlike those of other horned mammals, consist of keratin only and lack a bony core, such as bovine horns. Rhinoceros horns are used in traditional Asian medicine, and for dagger handles in Yemen and Oman. One repeated misconception is that rhinoceros horn in powdered form is used as an aphrodisiac in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is, in fact, prescribed for fevers and convulsions. China has signed the CITES treaty however. To prevent poaching, in certain areas, rhinos have been tranquilized and their horns removed.

Copyright:

Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

Ernst Schafer (1910-1992)

Credit:

Pictures From History

Theme:

Endangered Species,