30/10/2025
People from all walks of life have come together in an incredible show of unity and commitment and we need your help!
Namibia’s Black Rhino Custodianship and Range Extension Program, under the stewardship of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism Namibia, is internationally recognized as a model of innovation in rhino conservation. This program delivers measurable biodiversity gains while creating life-changing opportunities for rural communities in the Kunene Region. It’s one of the main reasons Namibia continues to have some of the lowest poaching rates on the continent.
However, Sunday, 19 October 2025, marked a dark day in Namibia’s conservation story.
“Dorsland”, a magnificent, desert-adapted black rhino cow from the Red Mountain Joint Management Area, was brutally poached — while still nursing her calf and carrying another. Her calf was later found, also shot, its horn removed.
In one selfish and criminal act, we lost not one, but three of these precious, endangered animals.
Since 2015, Dorsland had given birth to four calves — and the unborn one would have been her fifth. She was an exceptional mother, a cornerstone of her population, and a symbol of resilience in one of the toughest environments on Earth. But this tragedy extends far beyond her.
When a poacher kills a black rhino in Namibia, they don’t just destroy wildlife — they steal from the rural families who protect these animals, from the communities that have chosen conservation over exploitation, and from the future generations who depend on tourism — an industry directly employing over 60,000 Namibians, three times more than mining. Namibia’s wildlife economy, a global success story, supports over 240,000 rural Namibians and contributes more than N$1 billion to our economy every year.
Black rhinos are not only a conservation triumph — they’re a cornerstone of Namibia’s tourism success and a vital source of local livelihoods.
If you’d like to contribute to this initiative or learn more, please contact the Conservation Travel Foundation.
Credit and thanks to Tristan Cowley
