2012 Photo Contest, Nature, 1st prize

Rhino Wars

Photographer

Brent Stirton

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

11 April, 2011

Dawie Groenewald, his wife, and 11 vet and hunter employees, attend their trial in Musina, South Africa, accused of transgressing the Endangered Species Act, after unaccounted-for rhino carcasses were found on his game farm.

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

Musina, Limpopo, South Africa

Dawie Groenewald, his wife, and 11 vet and hunter employees, attend their trial in Messina, South Africa, accused of transgressing the Endangered Species Act, after unaccounted-for rhino carcasses were found on his game farm. 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
1/100 sec
Focal length
18 mm
F-Stop
2.8
ISO
1250
Camera
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV

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