The Last Rhinos

May 7, 2012
Head of conservation at the Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand, South Africa, Anthony (The Elephant Whisperer) recounts his role in the northern white rhino’s perilous struggle against extinction: “Unless something fundamental changes, and quickly, every last one in the wild will eventually be killed.” These rhinos, one of the world’s largest creatures, are being “brutally slaughtered for a horn”—which is “little more than keratin”—used in traditional Asian healing. “It is difficult to remain calm,” he says, when these rhinos do not get protection against savage poaching. Anthony doesn’t shy away from danger, even when his journey to save the rhinos unexpectedly entwines him in the midst of Ugandan political warfare. He meets with the Lord’s Resistance Army, rebel war criminals hiding in the Congolese jungle, to persuade them to protect these animals. Riddled with heartfelt anecdotes, Anthony’s brave crusade to save these mammals—even at great risk to his own safety—reads like a safari adventure, a history lesson, and a warning that our careless ways will bring an end to so many magnificent species. Photos.

May 15, 2012
The story of a leading conservationist's efforts to save a dangerously threatened animal, \ and of his role as a mediator in a failed attempt to end armed conflict in Uganda. Anthony (who died in early 2012) and Spence (The Elephant Whisperer: My Life in the African Wild, 2009, etc.) describe the illegal trade in rhino horns--used for traditional medicine in Asian countries--as so lucrative that it rivals drug trafficking. These magnificent animals, threatened with extinction, were being left to bleed to death, mainly because "on the streets of China or Vietnam, ounce for ounce the horn is more valuable than gold." As the founder of the international conservation group Earth Organization, Anthony felt called upon to act. When a journalist informed him that fewer than 15 of the rare subspecies of Northern White Rhino were still living, he decided to mount an international effort to save them. To protect the animals from poachers, it would be necessary to remove them from their home in the Garamba National Park, located in a war-ravaged part of Congo. The area was also home to the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army, a terrorist group that had been fighting a 20-year war. After several reconnaissance visits, and despite securing agreements of support from the various governments and international agencies involved in the area, Anthony came to the realization that unless he could guarantee the safety of park rangers, he would not receive on-the-ground support for a rescue attempt. This led him to make contact with the LRA in an attempt to broker a safe-conduct agreement for the rescue effort. They agreed, and to his surprise, he was asked for help in brokering a peace treaty. A riveting account by a compassionate, dedicated man.

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February 15, 2012

If the Northern White Rhino dies out, it will be the largest mammal since the woolly mammoth to pass from existence--and UN Earth Day Award winner Anthony recently found only 15 of these rhinos left in the wild. Alas, they lived in a part of Uganda controlled by the violently subversive Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), but Anthony persuaded the LRA to protect the rhinos, ending up as a chief negotiator between the rebels and the government. Conservation and politics; persuasive.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.