GIVING RHINOS A FUTURE IN THE WILD

Team Rhino Conservation Botswana  (RCB) is running the London Marathon in April 2020 to create awareness and raise funds to benefit black and white rhinos in Botswana. Any donation, large or small, will help make an impact - please join us in making a difference!

These rhino skulls (above), including that of a baby, rest outside the RCB headquarters in Maun, Botswana - horns hacked off - a constant reminder of the horrors of poaching which continues on an epidemic scale. Rhino horn has no medicinal value whatsoever and is made of keratin, the same material as fingernails, yet eastern countries such as China pay top dollar for rhino horn to "relieve" a variety of ailments or to carve them into trinkets. This has put rhinos on the brink of extinction. 

Paul Swart,  Trustee of Rhino Conservation Botswana in the USA, assists with the darting, monitoring and ear notching of a black rhino in Botswana. A tracking device is also put onto the rhino in order to keep track of its movements.

Keeping rhinos safe in the wild is an arduous job with the subjects themselves not always wanting to cooperate! This white rhino bull was translocated from a heavily poached area in South Africa to Botswana and is being lead into a sturdy enclosure where he will be monitored and acclimate to the local vegetation before being released back into the wild. 

Paul Swart and Pierre Colin, finishing the London Marathon and raising funds for RCB in 2018. Pierre is an avid supporter and donor to RCB.

Dave Bennett,  passionate conservationist and Managing Director of Wilderness Safaris, a company at the forefront of many wildlife conservation projects in Africa including the saving of rhinos. Their contributions to this project are invaluable. 

Tracy Bamber, Chief of Sales at Wilderness Safaris and avid ultra marathon runner is passionate about running and raising funds for conservation and community projects in Africa - this year she is extremely excited to be running with the RCB team to raise funds for Botswana's rhinos.

Map Ives, Founder and Director of RCB, stands next to a sign at Atlanta  Airport, while visiting the USA to give talks and raise awareness about the rhino crisis. His passion and dedication go beyond measure, and he relates to each rhino in Botswana as an individual. Every day is a struggle, and every rhino lost to poaching is utterly heartbreaking for him and his team.  Map says he is "too old" to run a marathon but he is behind the team every step of the way!

"Every single day we are reminded of the fragility of life on Earth and of our own species responsibility for preserving this precious planet and all it's amazing array of life.  Looking after the small but important rhinoceros population in Botswana, is a group of dedicated and committed people working day and night to help protect these animals from poaching by vicious syndicates whose only interest is money and who will use any method available to get their prey.  If protection efforts fail then these animals will become another dreadful statistic in the extinction roll-call and which will be yet another black mark on our species. However, it is not too late.  Everyone who cares can make a difference even if in a small way.  These four brave people will be running the London Marathon to raise much needed funds for the guys out in the African bush and you can help by donating to their campaign.  Help make this world a better place and show them your support." ~ Map Ives.

To read more about RCB, visit www.rhinoconservationbotswana.com

Donations can also be made online in other currencies or via EFT. Please visit https://rhinoconservationbotswana.com/donate/ 

Thank you for your contribution to this cause that means so much to us and to the future of rhinos.