How to volunteer and save the rhino
Rhinos have existed for 40 million years and yet may be extinct by 2040. Public awareness has grown about the plight of these charismatic mega-herbivores – that's an official classification by the way – and yet poaching is hard to combat.
The reason? Highly organised international crime syndicates that carry it out are not necessarily perpetuated by locals.
Staff at &Beyond Phinda Game Reserve, at the coalface of rhino protection, said that the poachers are not dirt poor as many may assume. "They are almost like a gangster, involved in underground crime," a park ranger said.
Come the full moon tensions are high. They call it the poacher's moon, and a neighbouring game reserve lost a rhino the night before my visit. But all is not lost. The conservation fight continues, with some success.
Volunteers can visit Phinda Game Reserve for a week or six months and they will work with the monitoring team.
"The volunteer program is like a gap year but not just for young people. We've had post-doctorates here," the park ranger said.
The opportunity is organised by African Conservation Experience and the work includes behaviour observation, population monitoring, tracking and identifying the black and white rhinos of Phinda. The ecosystem around the rhinos is also crucial, and volunteers will help with elephant, big cat and predator monitoring, including the three lion prides and cheetah colonies.
Elephant contraception, spotted hyena identification as well as leopard camera trap surveys are all par for the course too.
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