If you want to work as a wildlife conservation work volunteer on your gap year one of the most rewarding things you can do is help save the rhino. If you help save the rhino you will be getting involved with absolutely vital work to try and avoid these magnificent creatures from becoming extinct.
One of the most urgent ‘save the rhino' priorities is the ongoing fight to ensure the survival of Africa's black rhino population.
Rhino conservation in this part of the world is particularly crucial, it's estimated that as few as 3100 black rhino remain in the wild today. In 1970 the number of black rhinos in the wild was estimated to be 65,000 - so efforts to save the rhino in Africa have reached a critical stage.
The fact that the need for a ‘save the rhino' campaign exists at all is purely down to the amount of illegal rhino poaching that has gone on through the years. Rhinos are hunted down and killed because their horns fetch vast amounts of money on the black market. The ‘save the rhino' campaign definitely isn't helped by the fact that there is a huge amount of poverty in Africa - so the massive financial rewards that can be gained from illegal poaching are extremely tempting to some.
One of the problems the ‘save the rhino' campaign faces is that rhino horn remains highly sought after in some parts of Asia, as they're thought to contain medicinal benefits. Another illegal market that continues to cause problems for the ‘save the rhino' campaign is the Yemen - the rhino horn is used to make handles on traditional daggers.
‘Save the rhino' is one of the WWF's ‘flagship' campaigns for two different reasons.
Firstly, there is a very real need to save the rhino to literally avoid the catastrophe of them going the way of the dodo and being entirely wiped off the face of the planet. Secondly, the save the rhino campaign has a knock-on positive effect that helps other endangered species. This is due to the fact that the anti-poaching measures introduced by ‘save the rhino' campaigners also reduce the illegal poaching of other animals. For example elephants hunted for their ivory and antelopes hunted for the bush-meat trade have both benefited from the efforts of ‘save the rhino' conservationists.
One of the key ‘save the rhino' strategies in Africa is to try and ensure that black rhinos are located in a large, suitable areas which offer a greater degree of protection from illegal poachers. Black rhinos require large areas of diverse habitat and this ‘save the rhino' strategy may involve re-locating a herd of black rhinos to a new and safer area. This process is obviously extremely specialised and requires a great deal of funding and expertise - so the ongoing contribution of organisations such as the WWF to save the rhino is absolutely crucial.
If you would like to help save the rhino on your gap year you can get involved by working as a volunteer on Real Gap's ‘Black Rhino Conservation Project.' This ‘save the rhino' project is based in the beautiful Midlands of Zimbabwe and is endorsed by the WWF. Volunteers help save the rhino by helping out with important day-to-day tasks such as monitoring the local black rhino population out in the field and recording relevant data. The type of people working on this ‘save the rhino' projects ranges from local Zimbabweans through to other volunteers and respected conservationists. As well as doing your bit to save the rhino it's also a great way to experience ‘real' African culture and meet both local people and other like-minded fellow travellers.
The efforts of ‘save the rhino' campaigns such as this one in Zimbabwe has, thankfully, resulted in a stabilisation of the black rhino population in recent years. However the fight to save the rhino is very much an on-going process and there is no room whatsoever for complacency. By getting involved with this fantastic project you can do your bit to save the rhino for future generations of visitors to Africa.
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