Photographing the Endangered African Rhino

Posted byCrowpixPosted inconservation photography, nature photography, photographic storytelling, visual storytelling, WildlifeTags:, , , ,

The much-maligned African rhinoceros (rhino) is a sad tale of an animal’s unnecessary demise. The wicked global, neo-liberal capitalist economic and political system that puts profits before people, or, in this case, animals, is the root cause of the dire problems facing the African rhino populations. Ego, greed and ignorance fuel an illegal hunting industry that decimates vast numbers of South African rhinos every year through rampant poaching. Poverty and general criminality also lie at the heart of the rhino poaching problem.

According to the International Rhino Foundation, the latest statistics show a decline in rhino poaching activity in South Africa from 2024 to 2025, but rhino poaching remains an ever-present danger to these sublime beasts’ existence. Moreover, the broader hunting statistics in Southern Africa show the alarming extent of mass slaughter of African wildlife for recreational and commercial hunting purposes.

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The rhino in the above photo lives within a private conservation reserve and is tagged for conservation and monitoring purposes. The short horn with a flattened top signals that the rhino’s horn was previously “sawed” as a means for protection from poachers. Cutting the horn of the rhino is a widely adopted strategy adopted for rhino conservation in South Africa, which has proved effective. However, it is unfortunate that the rhino must be exposed to such extreme procedures for its own survival.
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alt="rhino rhinocerous animal wildlife hunting poaching horn South Africa tourism Kruger national park photography conservation"
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The rhino is part of a small “family” that are housed on the conservation reserve. On the left a fully grown adult rhino that has its full horn in tact. In the middle a younger rhino whose horn is still immature but not sawed.

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