2012 Photo Contest, Nature, 1st prize

Rhino Wars

Photographer

Brent Stirton

Reportage by Getty Images for <em>National Geographic</em> magazine

09 November, 2010

After some supervision by rangers at Tugela Private Game Reserve, in South Africa, a male rhino has taken a female whose horn had been removed by poachers, using a chain saw, under its protection.

About the photographer

Brent Stirton

Brent Stirton is a special correspondent for Getty Images, and a regular contributor to National Geographic magazine as well as other international titles.  He speci...

Background story

Colenso, Kwa-Zulu-Natal, South Africa

After some supervision by rangers at Tugela Private Game Reserve, in South Africa, a male rhino has taken a female whose horn had been removed by poachers, using a chain saw, under its protection. Despite the fact that rhinoceros horn is illegal worldwide, demand is rising steeply as a newly wealthy Asian middle class is able to afford the prized substance, previously the province of the rich. Authorities are often bribed, or turn a blind eye to illegal trade in, and use of rhino horn. Ground rhino horn is used primarily as an anti-fever and anti-toxin medication, in practices that go back centuries. In Vietnam, where a senior government minister has claimed that rhino horn cured his cancer, it sells for €1,865 per 100g to local customers, and for over €6,340 to foreign buyers. With rhinoceros horn worth more than gold, the animals are the target of poachers. South Africa alone lost over 400 rhinos to illegal poaching in 2011. It is estimated there are only 16,000 rhinos left in the world, and the animal faces extinction.

Technical information

Shutter Speed
1/250 sec
Focal length
185 mm
F-Stop
5
ISO
250
Camera
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV

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