FROM THE FRONT LINE: Saving Our Rhino

front line

noun
  1. the military line or part of an army that is closest to the enemy.
  2. the most important or influential position in a debate or movement.
Would you want to be the person ‘closest to the enemy’ when the element is bold enough to bulldoze a species that has been on this earth for more than 14 million years? An enemy that will knowingly obliterate the ecology of the only planet we can exist on?
I wouldn’t.
Portrait of a white rhino in the Kruger
The situation of rhino poaching in South Africa has escalated beyond comprehension, and is now referred to as a war zone. It is the battle to save a species from dying out for good, and this is a tribute to the people on the front line of that battle.
The SANParks Honorary Rangers and Black Bean Productions have teamed up to bring attention to the field rangers who endure the gruelling training, and the life-threatening missions to become the “bulletproof vests of endangered species”. This video clip celebrates the dedicated, disciplined, fearless fighters who set out into the battlefield to protect rhinos from the ruthless enemy.

These 3.5 tonne herbivores are hunted for their signature horns; built in weapons of defence that have seen their survival on the earth thus far, but are no match for the flying bullets and sharpened machetes flung at them during the night. Each field ranger of the counter-poaching unit of the Kruger National Park faces this very danger every night they spend out in the field safeguarding the trophy the enemies are after, and here we acknowledge their bravery.
The unsung heroes of the front line of anti-poaching
SANParks Honorary Rangers are responsible for training and equipping these volunteer field rangers to defend themselves in an active war zone. What used to be a 2% chance of armed contact has exploded into a 47% to 67 % chance of dangerous conflict on the ground for field rangers in the Kruger National Park. This is a life-threatneing situation and there are people of Douth Africa who believe in nature and conservation and are willingly entering into this battle to save it.
Take a look at this realistic and heart-warming tribute to the field rangers on the anti-poaching front line of South Africa’s most coveted national park, and if you feel compelled to show your support, please donate at http://www.givengain.com/cause/2552/projects/9232
Rhino at sunset