Check out these amazing photos of a black rhino brawl. A younger male confronted the older bull. Both endured battle wounds, but walked away in one piece, with the youngster eventually submitting to the more seasoned veteran.
Photos: Richard de Lange/Africa Geographic
Northern Whites by Tony Karumba
Sudan, photo: James Mwenda
Rangers go out on patrol for days at a time, in the wet, the heat, the cold to battle the unknown. But before they head out, they gather in the lecture/mess tent; to learn, to prepare, to eat, to share fellowship.
This is the scenario for our friends at NKWE, a wildlife security group training and employing rangers for nature reserves around Limpopo, and assisting SAPS in poaching investigations.
Recently their headquarters tent was torn in half by a storm, leaving them without a dry, shaded area for their gathering, a crucial part of their daily operation.
In addition to being the headquarters for their rangers, they also utilize the tent to assist the local community preparing food during community events; an important part of building relationships and trust with the locals.
NKWE provided dinner for the local community after a funeral.
NKWE prides itself on high standards of training, with a 12 month program in place in order for rangers to reach competency. The costs for such a lengthy and in-depth training is immense, with costs of R100,000 per recruit.
Recruits during a lecture.
For this reason, they need our help.
The tent is $971 to replace. Your donations would be immensely helpful. Please go to PayPal on our page and donate what you can.
There are certain times our voices matter immensely. This is one. Please take a few minutes to send an email to: mboshoff@environment.gov.za
Comments MUST be subitted by MARCH 10th!
Edna Molewa, South Africa DEA, has announced her intentions of allowing legal trade of rhino horn. As days go by, more dirty details arise, exposing the corruption at the heart of this political fiasco. There seemingly will be NO restriction on the amount of horn able to be traded!
Latest dirty laundry of horn trade: Bombshell hidden in draft rhino regulations
“The concern of the international community is that while rhino horn prices have dropped by 50% in the last few years in Vietnam due to massive public education efforts, this will confuse the message, greatly expand the consumer base and facilitate laundering, making poaching even worse. Exactly what happened when ivory trade was re-opened in China.” -Peter Knights, WildAid
If you’re reading this, please take a couple of minutes to send an email! (Keep them simple, factual and please no profanity or too much emotion.)
For details: Drafted regulations on proposed horn trade
With the recent tragedy at Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage, the staff are doing their best to heal and pick up the pieces. There has been an outpouring of donations and support. Now we must be sure that justice is served. Please sign the following petition.
Justice for Thula Thula Rhino Calves
Even the outright horror of this recent attack hasn’t effected the South African governments intent to allow trade.
Although CITES is against it, evidence does not support it, and their so-called “legal” trade will only serve to fuel and mask the already illegal trade, Edna Molewa and the government are planning on going forward. Please sign this petition from the International Humane Society and voice your concern. This MUST not go forward!
Urge South Africa NOT to Trade in Rhino Horn
Lions are majestic
Elephants have a certain grace,
But I prefer the shorter pachyderms
with the stoic face.
Cheetahs are poetry in motion
Zebras-a fixture on the veldt,
But it’s the fur-lined “lily” ears
that make my heart melt.
Rhinos are gentle giants
self-assured & wrinkled with attitude,
there are none quite so impressive
both in crash or solitude.
From the tufted tail
to the tip of that impressive horn,
I pledge my loyalty
to Africa’s unicorn.
-Tisha Wardlow
photo: Francoise Malby Anthony
Thandi’s a mama (again)-watch the video
First glimpses of mama and baby from Ranger Daniel @ Kariega.
Read about Thandi’s Story and about her first baby, Thembi, It’s Official, Thandi’s a mum!
Money talks. It’s the basis for corruption and the decimation of wildlife. BUT it’s also paramount to protecting our animals and their wilderness.
YOUR tourism dollars and YOUR choice on spending them can make a difference.
In 2015 PLOS Biology did a global study to try to calculate the value of ecotourism. They estimated that protected nature areas attract 8 billion visits per year. (That’s more than 1 visit per person on earth.)
Researchers then calculated how much 8 billion visits are worth and came up with $600 billion per year.
In Africa alone, it is estimated by 2030 some countries will see 134 million tourists. –United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
Tourism stabilizes communities by providing jobs, protects the wildlife by making them the focus of these jobs, and of course provides an opportunity of a lifetime to the tourist.
One of our greatest passions at Fight for Rhinos is in helping canine anti-poaching units. Dogs are a huge game-changer in the poaching war!
On average 2 rhinos and 96 elephants are slaughtered each day.
In the last ten years over 1,000 rangers have been killed.
Should there be a shoot-to-kill policy? Would it help? The controversy is widely debated.
But what do the rangers think?
I spoke to several rangers to get their thoughts.
One ranger said,
“Most of the poachers are poor locals surrounding the wildlife reserves and they see the reserves as their source of income. What is needed is to empower people near the reserves economically, pass on scheme of goats, dairy cows, sending poor children to school… they will become role models to the community and people will begin to appreciates the importance of conserving animals.
We can shoot ten poachers a day, suppose they are all men- surely their families will suffer and later become poachers as means of survival. We shoot at poachers when our lives and that of our friends are in danger but shooting down any poacher it’s not solution.”
Apprehended poacher in Garamba.
Another who works in a large reserve said,
“I don’t think it will help because we normally look for deep information & investigations on a suspect caught that may lead to their middlemen, bosses etc.”
These Limpopo poachers were acquitted of rhino poaching in 2014, and just caught for rhino poaching again this month, in January.
But overall most of them were in favor of the policy.
“Keeping them alive sometimes does not help because the source of poaching is dealing with big people, often from government offices. So it’s a bit risky for the rangers who arrest them.”
“This thing of arrest, it throws us backwards to winning this war of poaching. The more that are arrested, the more they are replaced by new poachers.”
“In courts things turn ugly for most of our rangers who killed poachers due to poachers kingpins paying prosecutors money to let their associates off the hook. (If it were a policy, the government would support rangers without the extensive interrogation)
“Yes, yes, yes! They should be shot. Because the rhinos are killed, but also the rangers. I think it is the only way to win this war.”
Cameroon park ranger Bruce Danny Ngongo was shot dead in a poacher confrontation this past December. photo: Cameroon Wildlife Service
EIN/Charity 90-1018988
