What does the poaching crisis look like?
As the poaching crisis in South Africa deepens, hunters are looking further afield for their prey. Namibia has a history of protecting its rhino, spearheaded by Save the Rhino Trust, an NGO with over a decade of experience studying the rare desert adapted black rhino that is found here. In May 2014 I spent four weeks with trackers and was able to document the ongoing battle against the poachers. Sadly and increasingly the rhinos and their protectors are not always winning.
Plant of the desert: Welwischier, a specialist of the Namib desert this plant can survive the harshest conditions and typifies the environment these rhino have adapted to.
Black rhino: This photo was taken under high winds, this rhino has so far survived, partly protected by its barren and inaccesible home range.
Rhino carcass: A carcass of a poached rhino, now several weeks old and showing signs of scavengers such as Lion and Hyena.
Rhino skull: At each ranger station a gory array of skulls and bones showing the characteristic cut marks from a poached victim can often be found.
Rhino rangers: Rangers for Save the Rhino Trust - Namibia, keep watch on a daily basis, tracking and collecting data on up to 200 individual rhinos.
Head removal: A cow and her calf were butchered and horns removed in early May, here a ranger team remove the decaying head for analysis.
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