The Duke of Cambridge has said it would be “devastating for humanity” if the rhino becomes extinct.
The emotional comment came as Prince William demanded a “dramatic change” in how the rhino is protected and warned the world has just five to ten years to save the species from dying out.
In an interview with ITV News, he condemned illegal poaching, which is causing numbers of rhinos and elephants in Africa to fall, and added it was “make or break” time to save the rhino.
William said: “In the next five to ten years if there's not a massive change, a dramatic change, in the way we appreciate and protect these iconic species in Africa, there won't be these incredible animals there, which not only is obviously sad for future generations but I think it would be incredibly devastating for humanity itself when we have sat back and we have lost something we have been responsible for.”
The Duke said if something it not achieved within five to ten years it would be “almost impossible” to do anything after that.
He continued: “Because the numbers will be so depleted the damage will be done so badly and clearly the demand won’t have been halted.”
The battle to protect wild animals from illegal poaching is a campaign close to the Duke's heart.
In October, William used a speech ahead of a state visit by China's president to Britain to urge the Chinese to stop buying ivory and horn for trinkets and medicine.
And in February 2014, he appeared alongside his father in a video urging the world to "unite for wildlife".
In the video, William said: "My father and I hope you share our belief that it is shocking that future generations may know a world without these magnificent animals, and the habitats upon which they depend."
He has repeatedly spoken about how he feels the responsibility to protect these animals for future generations all the more since becoming a father to two year-old George and ten-month-old Charlotte.
Additional reporting by Press Association.
