1,215 rhinos were poached for their horns in 2014. Rhino horn is often used in Asian countries in various homeopathic medications, and owning one is seen as a status symbol. But if the species continues to be hunted at this rate, it's likely that rhinos will be completely extinct in 5 - 10 years.
RELATED: Rescuing Imprisoned Moon Bears in Vietnam
Matthew Markus and George Bonaci want to change that. They've started a bio-tech company in San Francisco called Pembient that can 3D print rhino horns. These 3D printed horns are exactly like real rhinoceros horns in their structure and chemical makeup, and they even have real rhino DNA inside them.
"In terms of physical properties, the density, the hardness, all of that, it's identical," says Bonaci. "It is spectrographically identical. If you took it to a lab and had them test it, it would come back as rhino horn. If we did a DNA test, it would come back as from a rhino."
Rhino horns typically sell for about $60,000 per kilogram, making them more expensive than even the most costly illegal drugs, such as cocaine. For poor poachers in Africa, this often means that selling one rhino horn can feed their family for several years. Pembient plans to sell their lab printed horns to these poachers at a hugely discounted price so the poachers can then sell them to the black market. They still make money to feed their family but without killing off the rhino population.
George's hope is that this technology will be able to completely save the species from extinction. In fact, he believe it just might be their only hope.
Watch more Seeker Stories:
The Man Creating the Whole Foods of Weed
Read more about Pembient:
Discovery News: 3D Printed Synthetic Rhino Horns Could Save Rhinos
The Guardian: Can we save the rhino from poachers with a 3D printer?