The black and the white rhinoceros have become flagship species for international conservation. They are significant not only for the continuation of a major evolutionary heritage, but also as symbols for the protection of African savannahs. The battle for the survival of these species has been marked by some notable successes and sadly, many failures, and the situation is still critical. The international horn trade ban and the domestic bans imposed in most traditional user states have driven the trade further underground, in some cases inflating prices and making illegal dealing even more lucrative.This Plan is aimed at donors, government and non-government organizations, and all those involved in rhino conservation. It outlines the actions and strategies needed to catalyse support for these majestic animals, and help secure their future in sub-Saharan Africa. The overall conclusion is that, given the political will, stability and adequate field expenditure, rhinos can be conserved in the wild.
Acclaimed nature writer Rick Bass takes us on a journey into the Namib Desert to follow a group of poachers-turned-conservationists as they track the endangered black rhinos through their ancient and harsh African homeland.
From the birth of Islam in the seventh century to the voyages of European exploration in the fifteenth, Africa was at the center of a vibrant exchange of goods and ideas. It was an African golden age in which places like Ghana, Nubia, and Zimbabwe became the crossroads of civilizations, and where African royals, thinkers, and artists played celebrated roles in the globalized world of the Middle Ages. Drawing on fragmented written sources as well as his many years of experience as an archaeologist, the author reconstructs an African past that is too often denied its place in history. He looks at ruined cities found in the mangrove, exquisite pieces of art, rare artifacts like the golden rhinoceros of Mapungubwe, ancient maps, and accounts left by geographers and travelers
An orphaned baby black rhino is taken in by the manager of the local national park, who names him Chizi and raised him along with his own children. As Chizi grows, he becomes a big part of the family. Chizi's Tale teaches that all of us can, and should, show mercy and compassion.
The black rhino is nature's tank, feared by all animals. Even lions will break off a hunt to detour around one. And yet the black rhino is on the edge of extinction, its numbers dwindling from 100,000 at the turn of the century, to less than 2,500 today. The reason is that in places like Yemen, China, Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, the rhino's horn is more valuable than gold, so valuable that people will risk their lives to harvest it. To deter rhino poachers, African governments have spent millions--on helicopters, paramilitary operations, fences and guard dogs, even relocation to protected areas. Finally, Namibia decided to de-horn its rhino population, in a last ditch effort to stop the slaughter. In 1991, Carol Cunningham and Joel Berger, and their eighteen-month-old daughter Sonja, went to Namibia to weigh the effects of de-horning on rhinos. In Horn of Darkness, they tell the story of three years in the Namib Desert, studying Africa's last sizable population of free-roaming black rhinos. This is the closest most readers will come to experiencing life in the remaining wilds of Africa. Cunningham and Berger, writing nate chapters, capture what it is like to leave the comforts of civilization, to camp for months at a time in a land filled with deadly predators, to study an animal that is reclusive, unpredictable, and highly dangerous. The authors describe staking out water holes in the dead of the night, creeping to within twenty-seven meters of rhinos to photograph them, all the while keeping a lookout for hyenas, elephants, and lions. They recount many heart-pounding escapes--one rhino forces Carol Cunningham up a tree, an unseen lion in hot pursuit of hyenas races right past a frozen Joel Berger--and capture the adrenaline rush of inching closer to a rhino that might flee--or charge--at any moment. They also give readers a clear sense of the careful, patient work involved in studying animals, the frustration of long days without finding rhinos or seeing other people, coping with heat and thirst (the Namib desert is one of the driest on Earth), with dirt and insects, driving hundreds of kilometers in a Land Rover packed to capacity, slowing amassing records on one hundred individual rhinos over the course of several years. And perhaps most important, the authors reveal that the data they collected suggests that the de-horning project might backfire--that in the four years after de-horning began, calf survival was down (the evidence suggests that hyenas might be preying on calves and the horn less mothers couldn't defend their offspring). They also describe the dark side of scientific work, from the petty jealousy of other scientists--outside researchers were often seen as ecological imperialists--to the controversy that erupted after the authors published their findings, as furious officials of the Namibian conservation program denounced their findings and through delays and other tactics effectively withheld a permit to allow the couple to continue their study. Weaving together the historical accounts of other naturalists, a vividly detailed look at life in the wild, and a behind-the-scenes glimpse of scientific work and the dark side of the conservation movement, Horn of Darkness is destined to be a classic work on the natural world.
Introduces readers to the roles of African rhinos in savanna ecosystems, as well as threats to rhino populations and conservation efforts. Eye-catching infographics, clear text, and a “That’s Amazing!” feature make this book an engaging exploration of the importance of African rhinos.
Thirsty with greed for the spoils that the illicit rhino-horn trade bled into his pockets, a mysterious African poaching kingpin always managed to evade both detection and capture. Until he decided to turn his devastation on Tony Campbell's beloved Zimbabwe, and put a ticking target on his back.Ruthless anti-poaching maverick Tony Campbell is well established and respected in the world of wildlife conservation. He is just about to take on a new anti-poaching role when multiple black rhino carcasses are found, brutally butchered for their valuable horn.What started out as a routine relocation exercise turns into a frantic military-run mission that will either save the last of the Zambezi rhinos or seal their fate forever.As the soft underbelly of the nefarious poaching world is stripped away by a series of seemingly unrelated events, Campbell will have to risk it all to lure the kingpin into a trap.And he'll have to decide just what price he's willing to pay to uncover and stop the senseless killings.
The last place seventeen-year-old fashionista, Claire, wants to go is on a South African safari with her father. Her discovery of her dad's extramarital affair has unleashed a tidal wave of anger towards him. Claire's safari experience improves after meeting Junior, a handsome young guide. But when she breaks a critical game-drive rule, Claire and her father are pulled into the crosshairs of armed rhino poachers. Can Claire and her dad overcome their broken relationship in order to save their own lives and the last two black rhinos from extinction?
