We've accumulated a lot of pictures and videos over the years, and we'll try to share some of the more interesting ones on this page. You'll find the still pictures first, and the videos after a considerable amount of scrolling.
Or you can click here to go directly to the videos.
The Drive
This is the road to our front gate. On the right is a private reserve of thousands of acres. On the left is another private reserve of many thousands of acres. South Africa has 29% of its landmass committed to conservation, with 22% having been purchased privately and then dedicated to conservation. That is something for this country to be very proud of.
First Born
This was the first baby born after we took over responsibility for the reserve. She is just about ready to start making babies of her own now.
Big & Bad.
This is one of the dominant bulls on section 17A of our reserve. Even though he has recently had his horn trimmed, and it hasn't had an opportunity yet to grow out again, he is already aggressively sharpening it to a point to be used in battle.
Just Breathe
The young lady at the rhino's head is a visiting vet student, participating in one of our Rhino Camp experiences. She is checking the respiration rate for a rhino under sedation to ensure that his oxygen levels stay healthy while we work on him.
Baby
We've had well over a hundred babies born in the last four years, but each one still makes our hearts skip a beat. This little guy was born in October 2020, and Mommy was still VERY protective.
Rocky
Not every animal we protect is big and scary. Little Rocky fell from a tree while still too young to take care of himself. Our eldest daughter fell in love and cared for him until he left us.
Incoming
When the rains are late, and the animals are running out of food, we do daily drops of high protein concentrate, and bales of hay, in areas where the rhino know to look for help. It often draws a crowd. And, sometimes, that crowd can be a bit threatening.
And the meek shall inherit ...
This youngster is now an adolescent, and is decidedly more confident. We don't see him hiding in his Mom's shadow much anymore.
Sweet Dreams
Another young bull who needed to be moved to safety before the dominant male in his area took him out. The guy on the left is Yke - one of the most capable animal handlers in the business. And the guy on the right has more hair than the picture suggests. The glare can be really misleading. We're not going to talk about it anymore.
Tug of War
This young bull was starting to get picked on by one of the breeding bulls, and it was time to get him to a safer part of the reserve. That meant tranquilizing him, covering his eyes, and pulling him onto a trailer for transport.
A load of bull...
This is a fairly hefty young bull whose turn had come for measurement and marking. The blanket draped over his eyes helps to keep him calm while we do our work.
You can't see me.
Despite being as big as a car, rhino are often very shy creatures. This big bull seemed fairly certain that we couldn't see him.
Morning light
Just after the first rains, when the new grass turns the dead ground green, the beauty of the reserve, and the sense of life springing back from the brink, can be powerful reminders of higher powers, and greater obligations.
Easy does it
Before our own staff had yet developed their skills in calming a tranquilized rhino for treatment, we benefited greatly from the guys from nearby Piet Warren's operation. Getting the blanket over this youngster's eyes is important in calming him down for the work to begin.
Watch your toes
Even after a tranquilizer dart has done its job, and a blanket over the eyes has made the rhino settle down, you still have to steer the rhino to a safe resting spot before he sits down. When he weighs a couple of tons, that conversation can be tiring.
Dogs of war
We were lucky enough to have James, an ex British soldier, and his dog Puma, working with us to find and study the hundreds (and possibly more) pangolin that thrive in the safety of the reserve. I didn't have a picture of the dog, so here is James.
I got your back, bro'
Two youngsters who didn't trust us at all, standing back to back to be certain nobody snuck up on them. And all we wanted was a photo.
Trust me
Even with three guys holding his tail (and, no, it does not hurt him, at all), and another trying to convince him that this would be a comfortable place to sit, this bull just did not want to take our word on it.
Pray with me, brother
Yke comforts a youngster whose mom is receiving veterinary treatment. We have a lot of pictures of Yke. He's just good looking.
Three's a crowd
We were still a good 40 meters away, but these three weren't taking any chances.
Mirror image
This mommy and youngster are healthy, but leaner than we'd like. It is late in the dry season, and they need extra food. We space the round concrete troughs about 20 meters apart, to avoid competition between rhino, and we fill them with high-protein concentrate to supplement the poor grasses left at this time of year. Rhino who want extra food wander in from the bush to eat, and then leave again.
Just a few friends around the campfire
We were honoured to host over 100 vet students from around the world for several days, and to be given a chance to share with them our vision for saving the rhino from this current moment of danger.
Play date
Xenja and our second-youngest walk forward to get a closer look at a mommy and her newborn calf. You can see the hay we drop during the dry season, to help the animals maintain weight. And you can see that the mommy rhino was not interested in offering up her child for a play date.
Where's Waldo
Operations like ours do NOT keep animals captive. They roam vast, wild spaces. If they don't want to be found, we don't see them. This bull (on the road, at the bottom) doesn't seem to mind standing out in the open.
Forecasting growth
Renowned economist Dawie Roodt helped us get this big bull under control to have his horn trimmed. Then he took a selfie, which does not seem to have impressed the rhino. ;-)
Heave!
Darted rhino don't always lie down in the best position. Sometimes we have to work together to roll him into better breathing posture. That can be a hard push.
Its 'go' time
With the tranquilizer dart already doing its thing, and the blanket comfortably thrown over this big boy's eyes, we call out to the students visiting us for "Rhino Camp" to safely approach and participate in his care.
Ummm...
My wife is mortified that I am sharing this picture, but it is one of the most important activities on the reserve, and an act not often witnessed. So, in the interests of science ...
Lone Ranger
Sometimes rhino feel social. And sometimes they don't.
The eye of the world is upon us
The effort to save the rhino from extinction is watched by the whole world with a mixture of hope and worry. But the eyes that mean the most to us are the ones we look into every day - the ones whose approval we hope to earn.
Videos
Standing tall
Giraffe are so incredibly graceful, whether standing still or gliding along in a gallop.
Cat Nap
This leopard was trapped on a neighboring reserve that simply could not offer him a home. We agreed to take him, so he was darted (visible on his right shoulder) and moved to us.
Doin' the dance
Sometimes the tranquilizer dart gives you a calm rhino to work with. Sometimes not.
I'm stumped
Rhino will often find a tree stump near a mud wallow that is just the perfect height and shape to scratch an itch. Over time, the rhino will polish that stump to a shine, which is what we see here.
Lone Ranger
He got a full dental evaluation before our vet gave him the wake-up shot and let him loose in his new home. He has been chowing Nyala at a ferocious rate ever since.
Fat & Happy
This gentleman just wanted to be left alone to munch. And munch. And munch.
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My Best Friend
When your four-year-old tells you that you are lucky her best friend is a giraffe, you pretty much have to agree.
All eyes on Jana
While the abundance of cameramen in this shot makes it a bit odd, it is still a great chance to see what it feels like to be in the helo when it lifts off. In our view, Jana is the best in the business, and our preferred pilot when doing the very dangerous low-altitude work of darting rhino.
Renegades
While I will freely acknowledge that I've probably overused this video all over this site, it remains the most emotionally resonant summation of what we do, and why we do it. This song was our family's informal rallying cry when we decided to get involved in the fight to save rhino, and it has always been the best soundtrack to the way we see our mission.
Some days are harder than others
When the rhino is REALLY big, and the first dart fails to inject him with any tranquilizer, and the second dart just isn't enough to convince him to rest, it can be pretty hard to convince him to stop.
A lawnmower motor & a folding chair
If a proper helicopter is too tame an experience for you, sitting in a glorified lawn chair, under a pretty basic kite, is a great way to feel the wind in your hair and see the wide open spaces of the reserve. I particularly like showing this video to people who want to claim the rhino on private reserves don't benefit from the same wild & wide open space afforded their cousins on government reserves.
Sniper with a heart of gold
Bossie is the only vet we use on the reserve. His experience with rhino, and his love for them, are world-class. And check out how easily he can tag a rhino with a tranq dart from a moving platform. This guy is a legend.