Remembering Leopards: The Latest In the Remembering Wildlife Books. The Mission Is To Raise Awareness Of The Threats Facing Leopards Through The Stunning Images From Many Of The World’s Top Wildlife Photographers

**Front Cover: African Leopard by Mark Dumbleton in Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa.**

Remembering Wildlife has launched several charity photo books over the years that highlight endangered species and act to raise funds for the protection of the animals featured with the help of famous supporters and talented photographers around the world. Remembering Elephants, Remembering Rhinos, Remembering Great Apes, Remembering Lions, Remembering Cheetahs, and Remembering African Wild Dogs have already been produced, and Remembering Bears was funded and delivered last year. Remembering Leopards is the latest release in the series and will bring attention to Leopard species that are threatened around the world with the help of beautiful images of Leopards generously donated by many of the world’s top wildlife photographers

**A mesmerising Leopard study by Roy Toft**

This year the attention is turned to the eight species of Leopard: African, Amur, Arabian, Indian, Indochinese, Javan, Sri Lankan and Persian. Despite their adaptability, the global population and distribution is sadly in decline. They are now believed extinct in 23 of their 85 original range countries. As well as each of the sub-species, Remembering Leopards have also included images of Snow and Clouded Leopards too.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the Leopard as a Vulnerable species, and three of its subspecies are ranked as Critically Endangered. In addition, the Peer paper recommends that the status of another two subspecies be uplisted to the status of Critically Endangered and Endangered.

Margot Raggett, founder and producer of Remembering Wildlife, said: “Despite their adaptability, the global population and distribution of leopards is sadly in decline. “They are now believed to be extinct in 23 of their 85 original range countries.

Habitat loss and fragmentation, the legal and illegal wildlife trades, traps, trophy hunting and human-wildlife conflict are among the leading threats to Leopards. Although found across Africa and Asia, they are now extinct across large swathes of their previous habitat.

The Making Of The Book

A crowdfunding appeal to produce the latest edition of a wildlife book series has broken previous records for this very popular project. The campaign launched on April 1 2023 and smashed its minimum target of £20,000 in just four minutes when it launched on 1 April. Remembering Wildlife says that within the first day, supporters had pledged more than £100,000, making Remembering Leopards the fastest funded of all the books in the series so far.

More than £1 million has been donated by the photobook series to protect endangered species since its launch in 2016, attracting famous supporters including Russell Crowe, Ricky Gervais and Michelle Pfeiffer.

“I’m blown away by the support our Kickstarter has had already and I promise everyone who has pledged their support that this will be the most beautiful book on Leopards the world has ever seen.”
Margot Raggett, founder and producer of Remembering Wildlife

**“There is no greater friend to the animals than Ricky and we are deeply grateful for his on-going support and championing of the series!” ~ Margot Raggett/Remembering Wildlife**

In Chobe National Park, Botswana, Hannes Lochner captured this Leopard looking skyward, as a flock of marabou storks flew overhead. Behind him, on the horizon, the sun sets over a swelteringly hot (50°C) day.

The photographers who have donated their images for this edition are:

Jane Addey, Oriol Alamany, Neil Aldridge, Theo Allofs, Matt Armstrong-Ford, Daryl & Sharna Balfour, Adam Bannister, Volodymyr Burdiak, Will Burrard-Lucas, Vladimir Cech Jr., Paras Chandaria, Chad Cocking, Marius J Coetzee, Shem Compion, Keith Connelly, Ben Cranke, Brendon Cremer, M & C Denis-Huot, Anja Denker, Tristan Dicks, Kevin Dooley, Greg du Toit, Marlon du Toit, Mark Dumbleton, Kairav Engineer, Morkel Erasmus, Amit Eshel, Suzi Eszterhas, Sascha Fonseca, James Gifford, Paul Goldstein, Sergey Gorshkov, Owen Gröbler, Richard Guijt, Todd Gustafson, Thorsten Hanewald, Hilary Hann, Trish Hennessy, Roger Hooper, Arnfinn Johansen, Lakshitha Karunarathna, Sebastian Kennerknecht, Agung Ganthar Kusumanto, Tim Laman, Frans Lanting, Behzad J Larry, Chien Lee, Hannes Lochner, Michael Lorentz, Piper Mackay, Russell MacLaughlin, Shivang Mehta, Garry Mills, Marc Mol, Yashas Narayan, Latika Nath, Heinrich Neumeyer, Pete Oxford, Parinya Padungtin, Richard Peters, Mevan Piyasena, Michael Poliza, Isak Pretorius, Margot Raggett, Abdul Rashid, Matthew Roper, Andy Rouse, Jonathan & Angela Scott, Pasan Senevirathne, Ismail Shariff, Anjali Singh, Harman Singh Heer, Andy Skinner, Sarah Skinner, James Suter, Tom Svensson, Roy Toft, Ann & Steve Toon, Paolo Torchio, Lance van de Vyver, Jan van der Greef, Marsel van Oosten, Christophe Vasselin, Federico Veronesi, Francesco Veronesi, Thomas Vijayan, Marion Vollborn, James Warwick, Marcus Westberg, Shannon Wild, Steve Winter, Art Wolfe and Nelis Wolmarans

Two Leopard brothers play fighting at Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. The shot was taken by photographer Trish Hennessy. The pair were initially playing in a bush before they climbed on top of the rocks on a hill to put on the show.

All profits from the sales of Remembering Leopards will be donated to projects protecting Leopards.

You can purchase your copy of the book at Remembering Leopards

Margot Raggett, founder of Remembering Wildlife

I fell in love with wildlife and safaris many years before picking up a camera! In the 2000s, I worked in PR in London and used all my spare cash to book safaris to Africa, as I had become totally addicted to being in nature. It was when I inadvertently signed up to a photography-based safari in 2010 that everything changed for me. It was a trip to see Kenya’s ‘Great Migration’ led by Jonathan & Angela Scott and it was only a few days before I went, that I realised I was supposed to bring a camera. I bought a cheap kit camera & lens and headed to Kenya. It turned out that camera was no good at all for wildlife (it was a very short lens) but nonetheless, I was totally inspired by Jonathan & Angela’s photography. When I got home, I immediately upgraded my gear and signed up for a course at the London School of Photography to learn the basics and I’ve never looked back. For a few years I went on as many photographer-led trips as I could, to learn from the best and then in 2012, agreed a deal to work as a Photographer in Residence at a camp in the Maasai Mara called Entim Camp. At that point I started selling my photos and attracting followers on social media. 

It was in 2014 that everything changed for me once again. I had been working as a resident photographer in Kenya at that point for about three months a year, for three years, and it was at the end of one of those stays that I travelled to Laikipia to visit a friend. We were woken very early in camp by the sound of hyenas going crazy and at first light, went to investigate. What I saw changed my life, It was an elephant who has died from a poisoned arrow, likely poachers had shot him but he’d got away, only to die a slow, painful death over the next few days. The hyenas had started to eat his body and the sight – and the smell – was so shocking. I came to realise that poaching and the many other threats that wildlife faces are often hidden away from tourists and as a result, many like me at that point, had any idea how bad things really are. I was incredibly angry and upset and resolved to channel those emotions into something positive. That was the trigger for me to start work on what I thought would be a one-off book on elephants, to raise awareness about poaching and funds for projects working to protect elephants. I started to approach wildlife photographers I’d met in the field and invited them to donate an image each and it took off from there. 18 months later, Remembering Elephants was published. It sold out in 2 months and raised more than £100,000 and without me knowing it, a series was born. We’ve published five more books since (Remembering Rhinos, Remembering Great Apes, Remembering Lions, Remembering Cheetahs and Remembering African Wild Dogs) and the 7th in the series, Remembering Bears, will be published in October 2022. More than $1.2m USD has been raised by the series for conservation so far. Over 200 photographers have now contributed to the series and producing and steering it, has become my life’s work. Nowadays I spend far less time in the field taking traditional wildlife pictures like before but rather, I spend more time visiting the projects we are able to support with our funds, so I can see how our money is making a difference. 

Source: Heroes of the extreme An interview with Margot Raggett. Gizmo, 2022.

Margot was awarded an MBE in the The King’s Birthday Honours 2023 for services to International Wildlife Conservation.

You can purchase your copy of the book at REMEMBERING LEOPARDS

Jailed Poacher Sentenced For Killing Second Skukuza Rhino

A Mozambican national serving a prison sentence for Rhino poaching has been slapped with another lengthy jail term after being convicted of killing a second Rhino in the Skukuza National Park.

The National Prosecuting Authority said 47-year-old Lucky Mabunda, was sentenced in the town’s Regional Court on Thursday to ten years direct imprisonment.

NPA spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, said he was already serving a 19-year jail term for Rhino poaching and was convicted and sentenced for the second incident in 2019.

She said the court heard that Mabunda had entered the Skukuza National Park between February and September 2019. Field Rangers were patrolling and found the accused in possession of a firearm, axe, ammunition, and other items geared for hunting. They also found the carcasses of two Rhinos.

Nyuswa said he pleaded guilty to killing one rhino, before ballistic evidence taken from the Rhino killed in February, later provided the link back to him.

“It confirmed that the bullets found on the carcass were fired from the rifle found in the accused’s possession,” she said.

State prosecutor Lot Mgiba underscored the gravity of the offense, advocating for an appropriate sentence in court.

Consequently, the accused was found guilty and received a ten-year jail term. The importance of such legal actions in combating poaching, which poses a severe threat to endangered species and the potential for species extinction, was highlighted by Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Nkebe Kanyane.

SANParks spokesperson, Ike Phaahla, says they welcome the sentence.

“We are elated at the sentencing, which is in addition to the 18 years he has already served since he was found inside the park. In this instance, a projectile was discovered next to the carcass and taken for ballistics. They came back pointing towards the accused, and he was requisitioned from the Department of Correctional Services to get an additional 10-year sentence. It’s a well-known fact that we still have people who, around this time, want to come in, but we want to warn them that Kruger National Park is a dangerous place to come.”

Kruger has lost 70% of ITS Rhinos in 10 years

**The Decline In Rhino Populations In KNP Graph: Save The Rhino**

Rhino populations in the Kruger National Park have dropped by about 70% in the past decade because of the onslaught of poaching and prolonged drought. In its 2019-20 annual report, SANParks said that only about 3 549 White Rhinos and 268 Black Rhinos remain in the Kruger.

The environment department said poachers killing cows also ultimately kill dependent calves and cause future loss of calves — this effect equates to an additional five rhinos lost to the population per loss of one cow, now and in future. “Poaching also causes factors such as social disruption of Black Rhino societies. Cows then conceive less often.”

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We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.

It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.

Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.

Chained, Beaten, Whipped And Exploited Like Slaves: The Hidden Horrors Meted Out To Thailand’s Performing Elephants

When you pay they suffer!

They are the country’s icon – but behind the dazzle of religious festivals and tourist ‘attractions’, these giants of the wild are painfully abused in Thailand.

Some Elephants in Thailand are captured from the wild or bred in captivity and then forced to perform like monkeys to humans for the rest of their lives. When small they are beaten with sticks until they are broken, like a horse, or else they would not do what the humans tell them.

When small they are beaten with sticks until they are broken.

When they are not performing they are shackled in chains and when they come into heat or ‘musk’ they are re-beaten again to make them tame – THIS IS THE REALITY of your trip to see the Elephants in Thailand! Please do not support captive Elephants and only visit the ones that are free and not shackled – humans paying these people only make this continue – if we cut our money off, they will not continue doing this.

ALL temple Elephants are shackled and beaten – do not be tricked into thinking they are not.

When You Buy A Ticket They Suffer

I WILL STAND UP AND NOT BE AFRAID

I will stand up and not be afraid Of those who ask why I share the Elephants suffering And show them on video coloured pink

I do it, Not because I support what I see I do it, Not to encourage you to go I do it, Not so you find the link To the website advertising such horror shows

I do it, To remind those that have a life That many who walk amongst us Are suffering at the hands of man Because humans say they can As there is no law to fight And animals have no rights

I do it, So the voiceless will be heard. I do it, To show you that it it is wrong of man To sink so low as to abuse these magnificent beasts So you may feast Upon the evil show Now you know.

Sadly, the person clapping knows The Elephants do not love these shows These Elephants are forced to perform for your enjoyment They have been abused since very young With bull hooks and chains To force them to obey A command by the human, Which destroys their natural ways And makes them servants of man

I call the Elephants slaves to its mahout Because they cannot call a halt to the video shoot Because they cannot escape the strife That is their life.

Rachel Bose.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP ANIMALS IN NEED

You can support our work by donating as little as £5 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need.

PLEASE DONATE HERE

Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.

The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.

We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.

World Rhino Day: A Collection Of Thought Provoking Poems

World Rhino Day helps us to understand how these animals are struggling to survive and how they are endangered. We should find ways to save them from becoming extinct.

Here is a small collection of thought provoking poems.

Get Together! (Protect The Rhino) by Kitty Lam.

Sometimes I wish that I wasn’t born with a tall, magnificent, towering horn
Because I might be killed soon while my horn were torn.
Every 8 hours, one of us is dreadfully killed,
Only to make their dream fulfilled?

If I were to say we’re nothing special, we’re just like you it’s just not fair.
And if I say our horns are made like your nails and your hair.
Would people still kill us or let us be free?
Maybe they’ll laugh, as you can see.

We’re neither for sale, nor for medicine or as your house souvenirs.
I don’t want to be a display and stay there for years!
How can it be a work that they’re so proud of?
Then does that mean we’re just “stuff”?

There are not many of us now, only 5 species left and yes it is true.
White, Black, Greater One- Horned, Sumatran and Javan too.
However, I’m afraid that one day we’ll be gone,
And by then whom will they look upon?

I know by far that many of you had protected us, and gave us support.
Though is it not enough to reach the hunter’s heart?
Don’t you think that we’ve had enough?
We have to stay strong and tough.

This is why we need your help, to spread the word and show us you care.
Help us make a difference, since we are considered as rare.
I want us to all get together and to be a part of this.
For a happy future that you’ll never miss!

On Seeing A Documentary On Black Rhino by Francis Duggan.

The poachers only shoot them for their horn
And they even kill the young and newly born
And their numbers in the wild State only few
And their last hope of survival now the zoo.

It’s sad to think that African tribal child
May not now see black rhino in the wild
May live his whole lifetime and never see
Black rhino on savanna living free.

Some men don’t kill to eat they kill for greed
And only think of their financial need
For cash reward rich dealers they supply
And Rhino for their horn condemned to die.

The Black Rhino in Africa now so few
And some were flown to Australia to Dubbo Zoo
In hope they might breed in captivity
At least of poachers guns they now are free.

I watched a program on them on T.V.
And I felt sad so sad at what I see
To think that men would shoot them for their horn
And even kill their young and newly born.

Blankets For Baby Rhinos by Anne Moth.

I wear black for the rhinos killed and maimed
For what men do they should be so ashamed
They take the lives of creatures wild and free
For Gods sake will you listen, leave them be.

I wear black for the orphans left behind
Because of cruelty caused by some of mankind
The babies left behind, they have no mums
Evil men shot and killed them with their guns.

I wear black for the stupidity of man’s greed
The ones who plant the ever growing evil seed
Saying horn so good, it’ll make you strong
If only people listened because it is so wrong.

When all the rhinos are allowed to thrive and live
For that wonderful day my very soul I’d give
Until that day the clothes upon my back
Will have no colour, I’ll be the woman dressed in black!

Son by Ray Dearlove.

As we wander through the glade I watch my first born, searching for shade Soon it will be night With the full moon burning bright.

No natural enemies on the plains Certainly confident, perhaps a little vain So little but already has the strut Superior to all animals, no ifs, no buts.

The moon is high, it could be daytime I am blessed with my little man, approaching his prime I feel the pain before I hear the shot A deep burning pain in my side, burning hot.

My son runs towards me, terrified I breathe hard, running for the forest, must hide We crash through the bushes, through the trees More shots, so close, when will it cease.

Deep in the bush we stop, searching for a thicket of thorns All these people want is my horns Why must they kill me to win their gory prize I wish that mine were not such a great size.

I lay down to rest, my boy by my side We must be deathly quiet and hide How long can I withstand this terrible pain I must rise, I stand, but then I fall again.

We stumble a few steps, him nuzzling my neck Sobbing, crying, am I ok, he wants to check My world goes dark and black Someone, anyone, please save my son from this cruel attack.

One Rhino by Tessa Botha

One Rhino
Two horns
Sitting atop its head Two eyes
Resting on its face Two tons
Of a big body
One rhino
Grazing.

One bullet
Entering the thick grey skin One Rhino
Crashing
To the dirt underneath its feet
Blood dripping down.

One rhino gone
Away from its family
Away from its home. One rhino that was killed for its horns
One rhino that was taken to Asia Made into medicine
Curing nothing.

One rhino wasted
One horn made of keratin
One head full of hair made of keratin
Two different things made of one Both not able to cure anything But one still being used
Being hurt Being killed
All for nothing!

Leave Us Alone by Nobby Clarke.

PLEASE leave us alone we are tired of running and all we want to do is roam. Our horn is useless so the experts have said. Remember there will be no more horn left once all my family are dead!

RHINOS ARE IN DANGER , AND WE MUST ACT!

Save Rhino slogans are powerful phrases that unite us to save these magnificent creatures. With poaching and habitat loss threatening their existence, it’s time to take a stand.

“Save the Rhino, Save the World” and “Protect Rhinos, Save Tomorrow” are rallying cries that spread awareness and inspire action. Let’s come together and be their guardians.

Say no to ivory and support conservation efforts. “Rhinos Deserve a Future” – let’s make it happen! Together, we can ensure these gentle giants continue to thrive on our planet for generations to come. Join the movement and save the rhinos now!

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP WILDLIFE

You can support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Please donate below.

Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.

The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.

We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.

Conservation Groups Launch Lawsuit To Protect Grizzlies & Lynx From Forest Clearcutting Project Near Yellowstone National Park

Conservation groups have filed a formal notice of their intent to sue the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for approving a massive timber sale on the border of Yellowstone National Park that would destroy habitat for Grizzly Bears, Lynx, and other embattled wildlife.

The South Plateau project proposes to clearcut more than 5,500 acres of pine forest in the Custer-Gallatin National Forest. The project also calls for logging on an additional 9,000 acres and bulldozing up to 56 miles of roads, many through mature, old-growth forests.

“This reckless project was approved without considering its threats to Grizzly Bears, Lynx, and other wildlife,” said Kristine Akland, Northern Rockies director and senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The fragile Yellowstone ecosystem surrounding this iconic national park is vital for Montana’s rich biodiversity and climate. This project must be stopped before our beautiful backcountry forests are bulldozed.”

The Forest Service approved the logging project without identifying the locations, timing or scope of the logging units or roads. Instead, the agency said it will make those decisions when crews are on the ground, which inhibits analysis of potential harm to protected species and prevents public involvement.

“The Forest Service needs to drop the South Plateau project and quit clearcutting old-growth forests,” said Mike Garrity, executive director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies. “Especially clearcutting and bulldozing new logging roads in grizzly habitat on the border of Yellowstone National Park.”

“Clearcutting high-elevation lodgepole forests across thousands of acres is not going to improve ecological conditions and will not help protect communities from wildfire as the Forest Service claims,” said Adam Rissien, a rewilding advocate at WildEarth Guardians. “Rather, this is another misguided, old-style timber sale that will undermine the forest’s ability to store carbon.”

The project allows for significantly more logging and road building than is authorized by the Custer-Gallatin Forest plan. The notice also says that the South Plateau project will destroy and remove thousands of acres of habitat for Grizzly Bears and Lynx, which are both listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The plan conflicts with President Biden’s pledge to protect old-growth and mature forests and trees, an important climate solution because they absorb and store tons of carbon.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP WILDLIFE

You can support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Please donate below.

Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.

The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.

We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.

Trophy Hunting in Botswana: A Tale Of Declining Wildlife, Corruption, Exploitation And Impoverishment

In May 2019, Botswana’s President Masisi justified the decision to recommence trophy hunting by emphasising that local communities will be guaranteed more than just menial jobs and enjoy sustainable wildlife management’s economic benefits.

**A Bull Elephant shot in Botswana – a so-called ‘100 pounder’.**

As the passage of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill moves to the Committee Stage of the House of Lords, a suite of amendments has been tabled for deliberation. These amendments include amending the Bill from a blanket ban to a case-by-case assessment of trophies imported into the United Kingdom based on whether they contribute to the conservation of wildlife and human economic upliftment.

For example: Amendment Clause 2(d) states that hunting imports may only be granted if:

“a hunting area where the hunting operator can demonstrate that financial or non-financial benefits of trophy hunting materially contributes to the conservation of the trophy hunted species, including habitat protection, anti-poaching measures, and support for community livelihoods.”

At face value, this appears to be equitable. Ignoring the obvious ethical dispute, if trophy hunting can be proven to benefit the conservation of wildlife and human livelihoods, then perhaps it may be a case to consider. However, the problem in the majority of trophy hunting cases, and in most countries where trophy hunting takes place, the activity not only is wholly unable to benefit wildlife and human communities, but precipitates the opposite.

Botswana, one of the major destinations for trophy hunters, is a particular case in point.

The southern African nation has been promoted by some in the House of Lords as an example of a trophy hunting ‘success.’ So much so that a high-level delegation of government officials from Botswana, including a minister, an ambassador and a wildlife department head of authority were invited to the House of Lords in June 2023 to make a case for the benefits of trophy hunting in their country. Yet, serious questions surround Botswana’s ability to adequately regulate trophy hunting and provide any meaningful benefits for communities living among and alongside wildlife.

Field investigations, in-person interviews and literature, financial audit, international policy document reviews have been undertaken over the course of a year to assess the validity that Botswana can provide meaningful and tangible benefits to its wildlife and people. This is a summary of the results:

On an international level, the country has been flagged for non-compliance under the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) due to its failure to submit annual reports, which provide crucial information for validating offtake of elephants for trophies for the international trophy trade. This indicates that the wildlife conservation in Botswana is not adequately managed.

Hunting quotas are not based on scientific data. A total quota of 356 Elephants and 74 Leopards are on the Wildlife Hunting Quota List for 2023. These figures are regarded as abnormally high. The list also includes Zebra, Buffalo, Ostrich, Wildebeest, Kudu, Eland, Gemsbok, Warthog, Baboon, and Lechwe.

There is evidence of widespread unethical hunting practices including over-use of already overly high quotas, fraudulent practices, corruption, baiting, and hunting near and within photographic tourism zones. As well as the deployment of aerial support to search for large tuskers and killing Elephant bulls near artificial waterholes.

Trophy hunting activities in Botswana are forcing communities, which are expected to rely on the proceeds of trophy hunting, into a perpetual cycle of impoverishment and economic disenfranchisement. Trophy hunting obstructs the development of more meaningful activities like photographic tourism while the proceeds from trophy hunting are so miniscule that individual community members are practically receiving nothing.

There is also widespread evidence of corruption and mismanagement of funds generated by the Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) system in areas centred on trophy hunting as the main economic activity. The mismanagement and corruption are directly linked to trophy hunting.

The current government has revoked scientific research permits of organisations that have been committed to providing peer reviewed scientific data on the conservation status and ecology of Elephants and suppress those that have dared to voice concern over unsustainable and unethical hunting practices.

**An aerial photograph of a butchered Elephant, shot by trophy hunters in Botswana**.

The adult Elephant Bull (above) has been stripped of its body-parts. The trunk has been hacked off. There are large portions of the Elephant’s skin cut off. All four feet have been removed – presumably to make foot / table stools (the Botswana president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, (in)famously gave Elephant foot stools to the presidents of neighbouring countries at an Elephant Management meeting in Kasane in 2019). The tusks and skull have been taken to a taxidermy. These body parts represent the prize – the trophy – that the hunter was after, and which will be displayed on a wall in their home in Europe or America or Asia. There is also some flesh cut off on the flanks of one side, possibly to provide some meat for the trackers and skinners as a ‘tip’.

It has been claimed in Botswana that trophy hunting is only undertaken in ‘marginal’ wilderness areas that are not deemed viable for photographic tourism. It is also claimed that attempts to convert trophy hunting areas not viable for photographic tourism into photographic tourism areas is a challenge. Areas that are deemed not viable for photographic tourism are remoteness, lower densities of wildlife and monotonous natural landscapes. In these spaces, trophy hunting becomes a necessary evil as the sole provider of revenue for remote communities living within and alongside wildlife.

And yet, this Elephant was shot in a hunting concession (NG41) that is neatly wedged between two national parks – Moremi Game Reserve and Chobe National Park. These two parks are globally renowned for photographic tourism and are consequently brimming with tourists wanting to photograph what Botswana showcases best – wildlife. The fact that that this Elephant was shot right in the middle of these tourist hotspots makes a mockery of the claim that trophy hunting in Botswana only takes place in marginal areas.

**The Wall Of Death: A Hunter’s ‘Trophy’ Room**

The standard narrative from hunters and their proponents is that trophy hunting is an essential conservation tool that, if conducted ‘ethically’, preserves endangered wildlife and provides revenue for impoverished communities living in marginalised areas where photographic tourism is absent. Yet as this case shows, as they all do, that narrative is a false one. Stripped of its protective fairy-tale veil, the true face of trophy hunting lays bare, a narcissistic bloodlust of a few depraved individuals who care little for ethics, community upliftment or wildlife conservation. ~ Adam Cruise.

**In The Trophy Hunter’s Sights: Botswana’s Elephants**

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP WILDLIFE:

You can support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Please donate below.

Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.

The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.

We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.

Therese Coffey: We Will Do All We Can To Help Trophy-Hunting Ban Become Law

The Environment Secretary offered assurances about the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill in a letter to campaigners.

The Government has pledged to do “all we can” to ensure a ban on trophy hunting imports becomes law amid fears pro-hunting peers could “wreck” the reforms.

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey said the Government will not support any further amendments to the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill.

The proposed legislation would prohibit bringing into the country body parts from species deemed of conservation concern.

The Bill, introduced by Conservative MP Henry Smith, has already cleared the House of Commons.

But a group of peers have raised concerns and tabled amendments that threaten to derail the proposals.

Time is running out to consider the Bill and it will fall if it does not receive royal assent before the current parliamentary session stops ahead of the King’s Speech on November 7.

Ms Coffey, in a letter to the Humane Society International/UK dated August 17, wrote: “It is a manifesto commitment to ban the import of hunting trophies from endangered animals and we are working hard to deliver.

“The Bill passed the Commons in March, with the Government’s support, and we will do all we can to support its progress through the House of Lords working with Baroness Fookes.

“I can confirm that we will not be supporting any further amendments to the Bill. I expect committee stage to progress next month.”

Conservative peer Lady Fookes is the Bill’s sponsor in the House of Lords.

Claire Bass, senior director of campaigns and public affairs at Humane Society International/UK, said: “There is a small and vocal group of pro-hunting peers doing their best to wreck this Bill, but we need the Government to remain focused on the almost 90% of the public who want this ban on the import of hunting trophies.

“The timing for this Bill is indeed extremely tight but we were encouraged to receive a letter from Environment Secretary Therese Coffey yesterday.”

No Friday sittings to consider private members’ bills are expected in the House of Lords in September, according to the Government whips’ office in the Lords.

With the party conference recess running until October 16, there are expected to be just two possible Friday sittings before the parliamentary session ends.

Mr Smith, MP for Crawley, said he is speaking with the Government in a bid to secure more parliamentary time for his Bill.

Conservative peer Lord Mancroft, who opposes the proposals, said amendments have been tabled in a bid to “clean up” or clarify parts of the “badly drafted” Bill.

He acknowledged it is “very possible” the amendments could halt the Bill’s progress and rated its chances as “less than 10%”.

Mr Smith said the planned legislation is about UK import policy, adding opponents have pressed “spurious arguments” about how trophy hunting helps conservation.

A House of Lords briefing paper on the Bill stated: “According to figures from the Cites (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) trade database, 190 hunting trophies from Cites-listed species were imported into the UK in 2020 (the most recent complete year for which figures are available).”

By Richard Wheeler – The Independent

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Bob Barker, Longtime ‘The Price Is Right’ Host And Legendary Animal Rights Activist, Has Died Aged 99.

Through Philanthropy and Activism, Bob Barker Fought Animal Cruelty.

All about Bob Barker’s animal activism — from refusing fur prizes to launching a non-profit charity that funds Spay & Neuter clinics.

Bob Barker, an affable fixture on US television for half a century who hosted the popular game show The Price Is Right for 35 years and was a committed animal rights activist, has died at age 99, NBC News and Fox reported on Saturday.

Barker died on Saturday morning of natural causes at his Hollywood Hills, California, home, his publicist Roger Neal said.

Bob Barker with Nancy Burnet, president of United Activist for Animal Rights, in front of a Fifth Avenue furrier in New York in 1988. Credit…Don Hogan Charles/The New York Times

Barker was known for pro-animal causes and campaigned for them into his 90s. He would end episodes of The Price Is Right by urging viewers to get their pets spayed and neutered to control the animal population and began a foundation to subsidise the practices. He also spoke out against the treatment of animals in zoos, rodeos and circuses.

Over decades as the host of The Price Is Right, the longest-running game show in American television history, Mr. Barker, beginning in the 1980, used his pulpit to remind millions of viewers to “help control the pet population; have your pet spayed or neutered.”

“There are just too many cats and dogs being born,” he explained in an interview with The New York Times in 2004. “Animals are being euthanized by the millions simply because there are not enough homes for them.

He put $25 million into founding the DJ & T Foundation which finances clinics that specialize in spaying and neutering. The foundation was named after Mr. Barker’s wife, Dorothy Jo, and his mother, Matilda Valandra, who was known as Tilly.

In 2004, he donated $1 million to Columbia University School of Law to further the study of animal rights law.

“The Law School is extremely grateful for this generous gift,” said Dean David M. Schizer. “And we look forward to giving our students exposure to this growing area of legal scholarship.”

In 2010 he donated US$5 million for a 1,200-ton ship named the Bob Barker that was operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to stop Japanese whaling ships from killing whales off Antarctica.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Anti-Whaling Ship ‘Bob Barker’

In 2012 Bob funded the travel costs for three Elephants to travel from the Toronto Zoo to a sanctuary in California aboard a private plane.

A spokesman for the TV icon says Barker offered to fund the $880,000 flight after learning that one of the Elephants wasn’t well enough to withstand the long trip by truck.

Henri Bollinger said that the Toronto Zoo agreed to move Thika, Iringa and Toka to the Performing Animals Welfare Society Elephant sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif., but that one of the animals suffers from “a serious foot problem.”

Barker described the Elephants’ new home as a “paradise” and said “to think that one of them might not survive the trip in a truck touched my heart and purse strings.”

Bob Barker with one of the Elephants that he helped travel to PAWS sanctuary

In 2012 he donated $2.5 million to renovate a Los Angeles building that become the West Coast headquarters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

“It is money well-spent. I don’t know where you get more for your dollar, so far as protecting animals is concerned, than you get from PETA,” Barker said.

Bob Barker and Ingrid Newkirk at the opening of the PETA Bob Barker building in Los Angeles

In 2015, he stood behind a podium in an eleventh-floor conference room at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. His mission: to publicly shame Foster Farms — among the biggest poultry producers on the West Coast — for cruelty toward animals.

Reporters at the event were shown a secretly taped video, narrated by Barker and shot in May and June at two Foster Farms slaughtering plants in Fresno, Calif. The video showed scenes of thousands of chickens being carelessly hung by their legs on conveyor belts. Factory workers execute the process with brutal efficiency, occasionally punching live birds and plucking out their feathers.

Bob Barker speaking for Mercy For Animals in Los Angeles in 2015. Barker criticised poultry producer Foster Farms after an animal-rights group released video showing chickens being
shackled, punched and having their feathers pulled out while still alive. Photo: AP

Julie Woodyer, campaigns director at Zoocheck, knew Barker for years as they collaborated on both successful and failed efforts to free animals from captivity at Canada’s zoos.

She says Barker brought a determination and generosity that was unmatched by other celebrities, often opening his chequebook to support the cause and willingly making public appearances to raise awareness.

“I just can’t imagine there will be somebody to replace that ever,” Woodyer said in a phone interview.

Woodyer first connected with the TV host and his partner Nancy Burnet over email in 2010 as Zoocheck — in co-operation with other animal rights organizations –attempted to free Lucy the elephant from the Edmonton Valley Zoo.

In 2011, Barker appeared on CTV’s “Canada AM” morning show where he explained that elephants were not adapted to brave Canada’s harsh winter climate and Lucy’s health was deteriorating.

While the campaign to relocate Lucy was unsuccessful, Woodyer said a bond was formed with Barker over their shared interest in animal rights.

Together, they were involved in a controversial and years-long effort to move three elephants — Toka, Thika and Iringa — from the Toronto Zoo to a sanctuary in California. The campaign included Barker making public appearances and mingling with local city councillors to explain his view in hopes they would lend their support.

Ultimately, Barker donated $800,000 to the Peoples Animal Welfare Society for the successful transport and care of the animals.

“It would have been years and years for us to try to fundraise that,” Woodyer said, “And it would’ve been too late for some of those elephants.”

Barker later donated $50,000 to help build Manitoba’s first black bear cub rehabilitation centre.

“Lending his celebrity voice … really boosted those campaigns significantly and allowed us to have a broader audience,” Woodyer said.

“He was the funniest man I’ve ever met, extremely sharp, even in his very late years, and he could always come up with something funny, and make us all laugh even in the midst of difficult times in our campaigns.”

Bob Barker was a passionate animal rights advocate throughout his life. PHOTO: PAUL ARCHULETA/FILMMAGIC

I’d like to see animals removed from the entertainment business. Chimpanzees and apes won’t perform unless you beat them. Circuses keep elephants in chains 90 percent of the time. Elephants need freedom of movement. In circuses, they live in cramped quarters, which is not the life intended for them by nature. Some are beaten daily, forced to do ridiculous tricks and robbed of every shred of dignity. ~ Bob Barker.

RIP BOB BARKER

An Open Letter To Carl Knight – Last Of The Great White Hunters (Satire)

Dear Carl Knight,

When I got wind of your courageous exploits, I felt I had to congratulate you. For a start, you are British. We adore the British – they are our second favourite colonialists. The first, obviously, are the Dutch. They gave us the Afrikaners who in turn gave us apartheid. What’s not to love about apartheid, right? Was that the reason your parents moved to South Africa in 1980?

Your efforts to encourage tourism to South Africa in these fraught times are laudable, indeed. It’s not easy these days to find a Brit who is interested in anything other than Brexit and that tawdry harlot, Meghan Markle.

Even though you’re only 46 and hail from Epsom, Surrey, you have your very own company operating out of Johannesburg. It’s called Take Aim Safaris. At first I thought it might be another of those bunny-fondling outfits that think the best way to shoot animals is with a camera. Ha! Poor fools. Unlike you, sir, they have clearly never cradled a 300 Winchester Magnum in one arm and a high-class prostitute in the other.

And you named your eldest son Hunter! You wouldn’t expect a man who enjoys shooting animals in the face to have a sense of humour. Well done.

You spotted a gap in the market. As the plague is still very much with us, people are understandably reluctant to travel. That’s until you reminded them that with fewer hunters around, wild animals have been breeding like, well, wild animals. You can barely walk anywhere in South Africa right now without bumping into an elephant.

So you fired off a newsletter to 3,000 of your clients around the world encouraging them to come here and kill a bunch of stuff for sport. And what a sport it is! Okay, maybe not so much for the animals, but they don’t pay taxes and won’t be missed.

You wrote, “Big elephant and trophy buffalo + hippo, croc are plentiful. The areas are well rested, the animal movement is fantastic.” Let’s see how fantastically they move with a 5.56-caliber bullet lodged in their brain haha.

“I have quota available on the big cats: leopard and lion plus elephant bulls at unbeatable prices.” This is great news. I have never trusted an animal that can’t change its spots. Leopards are duplicitous, violent brutes and I am delighted to hear that they are now on special. Lions, too, will pretend to befriend you, then have your throat out just for the sport of it. They are cats, after all. Did you know this? Or do you simply judge everything with four legs according to the price tag on its hairy ass? Fair enough.

Some of your prices do seem a bit steep. $8 for a guinea fowl? Leave a trail of breadcrumbs into your oven and they’ll cook themselves. $150 for a mongoose? Can’t be much left, especially if you’re using hollow-point ammo. And $75 for a vervet monkey? Daylight robbery, that is. Porcupines are priced right at $300. Even though it’s more of an execution than a hunt, you could still get a quill in the eye if you were very drunk and had to fall on him.

In a recent interview with African Hunting Gazette, you said you shot your first leopard at 16. Impressive! I hadn’t even had my first blowjob by that age and there you were on a wild killing spree. Have you had your first blowjob yet? No matter. It’s the killing that’s important.

I love that you hunted for a Christian drug rehab in the Northern Cape when you were younger. You gave them more meat than they knew what to do with. That’s a David Lynch movie, that is. Produced by Oliver Stone. Featuring a young Sylvester Stallone as you.

You’ve hunted all over – Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe … you even shot a bear in Russia. I suppose he didn’t understand when you shouted, “Hands up! Don’t move or I’ll shoot!” You also said Namibia is a great place to hunt.

“Namibia reminds me of South Africa 30 years ago with its low human population and massive open spaces.” Yep, there was hardly anyone living in South Africa in 1991. An easy mistake to make, what with 40 million people being tucked away out of sight. As for the massive open spaces, well, you had the Group Areas Act to thank for that.

The magazine asked what’s your favourite animals to hunt and you said, “Dagga Boys!” What? That was the name of my gang when I was growing up. But you were talking about something else. “Such an exciting hunt … it’s kill or be killed when you’re hunting buffalo.” So you engage in hand-to-hoof combat with these brutes? Respect, bro.

Our president is also into buffalo in a big way. Mainly for breeding purposes, though. No, I don’t mean … never mind.

Your greatest trophy was the buffalo you hunted with your dad in Mozambique. “It was, and remains, the fulfillment of a father and son dream hunt in a perfect environment.”

My greatest trophy was for tennis in Standard 8. It was tiny but I was very proud. My father never taught me how to hunt. Instead, he taught me how to play pool. The thrill just wasn’t the same, although people did die in some of the pubs he took me to.

You talk fondly of the “38-inch bull in Mozambique that put me firmly on a path I’m still on”. That’s, like, just over a metre? What kind of small-ass bull is that? You might as well have kicked him to death. Anyway, what do I know. I’m sure you believe your wife when she tells you that size isn’t everything.

So the hippo-humpers are saying that many of the animals on your list are endangered. This is nonsense. There are around 400 000 African elephants left in the wild. If you shot a hundred a day, they would last for ten years. That’s not exactly endangered in my book.

There are also 20 000 lions roaming about off their leashes. That’s more than enough lions for everyone. You can get through five a day at least, maybe more if they stop hiding up trees and in cardboard boxes. Sure, their numbers have plummeted by over 40% in the last three generations as a result of hunting, but our national IQ has dropped 40 points in three years as a result of bad education and too much CNN and you don’t see us shooting our stupid people, do you? Damn, this stuff is strong.

Where was I? Oh, yes. You charge £10,000 to shoot an elephant? That, my friend, is a small fortune in my pathetic currency. And £14,500 to put a bullet into the back of a lion’s head? That’s way too much. Are you on drugs? Tell you what. I’ll give you R10 000 for two baby elephants, three monkeys and a crocodile. You do mix-and-match packages, right? And you do pay your taxes, right?

I see you have lived in Joburg for almost your entire life. It’s completely understandable, then, that you would want to kill everything in sight. And you’ve been organising assassinations ever since 2008? Nice work if you can get it.

I see those gerbil-suckers over at MailOnline have been questioning your ethics. How very dare they. You told them, “We eat what we hunt … we love and conserve animals.” I’ve often wondered what elephant tastes like. Tough, I imagine. Do you make carpaccio out of the leopards? That would be a winner among the Italians.

You also told the running dogs of the media that “I have broken no laws”. Good one, mate. You and me and Jacob Zuma know it’s impossible to break laws in this country. Well, you can break them alright, but there ain’t jackshit gonna happen to you.

That bastion of truth, The Mirror, asked how you felt about the dwindling number of wild animals in SA. You said they were lying, which they obviously were, and said, “In South Africa we have over 20,000,000 wild animals bred and conserved here. The birth rate per annum is around 3,000,000.” You might want to check your science, son. I think you’re talking about our people, here.

By the way, my friend Ted said you look like a bit of a cunt. You’ll be pleased to know that I had one of the servants horsewhip him soundly. Your name is Knight, for heaven’s sake. You’re a member of the realm. And I do mean member.

I liked the way you wrapped up your interview with that hunting magazine: “For my family and I, there is no life without God.” There’s a rich vein of irony in there somewhere.

Did you know that if your Boris Johnson had kept his word and implemented the ban on trophy imports pledged in his election manifesto and repeated in the Commons last year, you’d be back in Surrey organising weasel hunts by now?

Our president also has trouble keeping his promises. Politicians, eh? Long may they lie.

An original article written by Ben Trovato

Ben Trovato is the author of thirteen books, although you wouldn’t think so if you had to see his living conditions. His notorious trilogy of letters illuminated the darkest recesses of the human psyche, while his self-help guide went a long way towards boosting divorce and suicide rates. He also wrote a book that almost turned golf into a blood sport and brought out a survival manual that caused more harm than good. With a background in print and television journalism, Trovato’s popular newspaper columns have earned him a wicked reputation and a fatty liver.He can often be found surfing instead of meeting his deadlines. Trovato lives alone with two regrets and a hangover.

Thandi’s Calves: The Rhinos Who Should Never Have Been Born

Thandi is a walking miracle who truly should not be here. In 2012, she and two male Rhinos were viciously attacked and poached, leaving them in a pool of blood. When found, one male had already died and rescuers were not sure they would be able to save the remaining male Themba or Thandi.

thandi-before — Dr Will Fowlds Treats Thandi After The Poacher’s Attack

Unfortunately, after three weeks of care, Themba fell victim to his brutal attack and took one last drink from the pool of water. The sheer sadness the rescuer felt after this death would break down the coldest of hearts!

Fortunately, Thandi was a survivor and was able to overcome her mortal wound and go on living. As rescuers continued to help her, she slowly recovered, touching lives all over the world.

Nearly three years after surviving the brutal poaching Thandi gave birth to a calf on 13 January 2015 at Kariega Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

A Rhino as symbolically special as this one deserved a name to match, and the little calf has just been given a very fitting moniker: ‘Thembi’, which means ‘hope’ in the Xhosa language, one of the official languages of South Africa.

“The name Thembi seemed to fit best given that this little calf has brought fresh hope and energy to those who struggle to secure the future of our Rhino. She is a new generation of life, one I hope will never experience a poaching incident like her mother did” says Dr William Fowlds, one of the vets involved in Thandi’s incredible recovery.

Kariega-Thandi-rhino-Thembi-2_2015_03_03

He adds: “Thandi has changed my life. I can’t say it is for the better, as I could never wish to fight a war such as this one but she has inspired action in myself, and many around me. She now celebrates life, and with it the hope that against all odds, we can and we will overcome the massive challenges that threaten the Rhino.”

And then…………

In January 2017 Thembi stepped out without her mother, everyone at Kariega Game Reserve became a little anxious and worried – they thought Thandi had been hit a second time by poachers.

Then something magical happened.

Medivet Saving the Rhino Project Coordinator, Dr William Fowlds, spoke about the moment that had everyone all well up with tears.

“Kariega started to get worried as Thandi had disappeared for a number of days (which can happen), so they asked me to come and fly my drone to help find her and make sure no harm had come to her. This was the main thing on our minds – to make sure she was alive and not in any trouble.

I met a team at Kariega and we set out flying the area where she goes when she feels threatened or needs to hide away for a while. The wind was gusting badly, which made the search very tricky and by the time flying was reasonably safe, we only had an hour of good light left.

An hour later and there was still no sign of Thandi, but we had seen the rest of her crash, including Thembi. To cover large areas with an aerial camera, you need to fly quite high (80 metres) which also means that even a rhino becomes a spec on a screen and very tricky to spot, even in good light. It’s therefore essential to have a very good camera to record footage but even more important to have a quality screen with excellent resolution to maximise the chance of finding her in real-time.

Fortunately, thanks to Medivet – who sponsored the iPad that I use with the drone – and having the camera set to maximum light sensitivity, we were able to fly for an extra ten minutes after all useful light seems to have gone.

And what a momentous ten minutes it turned out to be! The final sweep back across very dense thicket vegetation on the way back to our home point, the faintest outline of a rhino rolled onto our iPad screen. I could hardly believe my eyes! We found Thandi. At that height. In that light. We could even see if she was dead or alive!

I dropped the drone to 50 metres above her and to our relief, she shifted her body position confirming that she was alive. That in itself was an amazing feeling, knowing that this very special rhino was at least moving around. But we still didn’t know why she had disappeared into the dense thicket.

The drone hovered over her and we stared into that screen, anxious for an explanation. And then suddenly, there he was! From under Thandi’s neck area, out popped the tiniest rhino miniature and we were elated.

What an amazing and wonderful surprise! The gift of a rhino baby delivered by one of the world’s most endearing rhino icons, Thandi. The very fact that this rhino who was severely hacked and left to die five years ago, and who survived against all odds was found, a needle in a haystack, alive and with a toddler at foot.

But there was more good news to come. What happened next wiped away our remaining fears that this baby may be weak or in some sort of trouble. As we watched from above, taking snaps from the iPad, this little bundle began to bump and nuzzle up against Thandi’s pendulous tummy. So small that he couldn’t even reach her udder to feed. His amazing mum responded by sitting down and then lying slightly turned to one side and moved her back leg out to the side, creating a little cove into which this little babe could move and start to feed.

We circled around this scene, absolutely thrilled by what we saw and elated at this incredibly good news. Later that week, when Daniel from Kariega was able to video the two of them in a road-way, we confirmed that he was a baby rhino boy and he was immediately named Colin. This event is so special in so many ways. The founder of this reserve, Colin Rushmere, passed away only days before we found this baby boy and it is very fitting that this special baby boy be named after someone who was such a visionary and a much-loved member of the community”.

May he live a long, safe and happy life, just as his name sake Colin Rushmere had done, and become the father of many.”

Why the name Colin?

The birth of the then unnamed calf came at a time when family and friends were mourning the death of Kariega Game Reserve founder Colin Rushmere 10 days earlier.

Rushmere’s son, Mark, said they had not known Thandi was pregnant when she disappeared and feared she might have been hit a second time by poachers.

“For all we know, the calf was born on the same day dad [Colin] died,” he said.

“We could not find her for a while and were worried. It is all very symbolic.”

Mark said they found out that Thandi had a second calf the day before his father’s funeral, after renowned wildlife vet Dr Will Fowlds sent up a drone to try and locate her.

“The news lifted the mood of the family and we all smiled. It was fantastic and the timing was unbelievable,” he said.

Rushmere, 79, was an Eastern Province cricketer and Mark followed in his footsteps in the provincial team and also turned out for South Africa.

He originally bought 660ha of land on the Kariega River in 1989 and turned it into a 10 000ha mega-park.

Although the sex of the baby rhino has still not been established, Mark said staff and friends were insisting that it be called Colin if it is a male.

Family friend Bronwen d’Oliveira said yesterday everybody was beaming with delight after hearing that Thandi had a second calf.

“Everybody is blown away by the timing. The birth was just so unexpected,” she said.

“Colin’s passing and Thandi’s calf ties everything together very nicely – his vision saved her and then this happens.”

Thandi has given birth to a further three healthy calves.

Mthetho: Born 03 April 2019. Credit: Daniel Haesslich

The Meaning Of Mthetho

The meaning of the name Mthetho is significant. Many Kariega staff members attended court proceedings at the Grahamstown High Court and were waiting for the day of justice. The Ndlovu Gang were suspected to have committed the triple poaching at Kariega on 2 March 2012, when Thandi, Themba and bull 84, where brutally attacked. Bull 84, died on the night of the attack; Themba died 24 days later from injuries sustained during the attack and Thandi survived. The sentencing of this gang was a sensitive topic for us all.

There was a huge sense of relief when the Ndlovu Gang were found guilty of 55 wildlife crimes including the poaching of over 100 rhinos. The Kariega team aptly named Thandi’s third calf, Mthetho, meaning justice in the local language IsiXhosa. Justice was served and Mthetho would remind us always of this moment!

Siya: Born 04 January 2021. Credit: Kariega Game Reserve

In the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, Thandi gifted us with a much needed beacon of hope and birthed her fourth calf. We named this calf Siya, after Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi. Siya is an abbreviation of Siyamthanda, which means ‘we love him’ in isiXhosa.

Zolani: Born April 2023 Credit: Kariega Game Reserve

The name Zolani means calm, loving, and free-spirited, and was chosen to honour a @kariega.game.reserve guide who tragically passed away.

The birth of Thandi’s fifth calf is another chapter in the incredible legacy of this magnificent rhino. A legacy that still inspires and motivates us to work harder and do better not only for our rhinos, but the entire natural world.

Further Viewing

Wilderness Foundation Medivet Project: https://www.medivet.co.uk/about-medivet/animal-welfare/wilderness-foundation-africa/

Rhino Horn Is Not Medicine: https://youtu.be/SWtPiBcRrVc

Kariega Game Reserve: http://www.kariega.co.za/

Dr William Fowlds Info: http://www.medivet.co.uk/news/medivet-rhino/dr-william-fowlds/

Forever Wild Rhino Protection Initiative: http://www.wildernessfoundation.co.za/projects/forever-wild-rhino-protection-initiative