The shocking image of cutting a rhino's horn, an extreme but necessary practice to save animals from poachers
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himUnshocking image shows two men who they cut the horn of a huge rhino using a chainsaw, while dozens of white fragments splinter at high speed. It may seem like a cruel practice, but this is what veterinarians are forced to do on African reservations to save animals from poaching.
In fact, rhinos are attractive prey for poachers, which deprive them of their horns, generally killing them. According to a report by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs, only in 2018 were they registered 1.873 attacks on rhinos in several parks across the country.
Thus we are forced to take drastic measures to protect and safeguard rhinos, a species now threatened by man.
I desperate times they require desperate measures and the cutting of the horn is exactly a desperate attempt to discourage the illegal hunting of these animals. Although it is certainly aunpleasant experience for the rhino, cutting their horn is equivalent to cutting their nails and the horn grows back over time.
The photograph showing the impact of this practice is titled "Extreme measures " and was taken by twenty-year-old Neville Kgaugelo Ngomane, a young student who with this shot won the Young Environmental Photographer of the Year award at the International Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) photo competition last September.
The image captured by Ngomane was selected from over 4000 other photographs:
“When his photo flashed on the screen, we all held our breath; it's such a powerful image, ”the judges said.
Neville was able to cultivate his passion for photography thanks to Wild Shots Outreach, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to teaching photography to students and unemployed young people living in disadvantaged communities.
The institution allows children to access the country's natural parks, normally closed to them because of a fee, and teaches them to capture the wildlife pictures.
“Despite living right next to a national park, 99% of these young people have never had access to natural heritage and have never seen Africa's iconic wildlife.
This award is a fantastic recognition for Neville, for Wild Shots Outreach, for the communities and for all the young people I work with, ”said Mike Kendrick, founder and director of Wild Shots Outreach.
When he learned he had won, the young photographer commented:
“Winning this competition means a lot, because I love photography. But I don't just want to win, I want to make a difference. it is not easy to see such an iconic animal being deprived of the horn. Hope this picture shows people what we are forced to do to save our rhinos and support their conservation. "
The hope is that images like Neville's will grab attention and help shed light on poaching, which is dangerously threatening African rhinos and in general all the precious wildlife of the country.
Read also:
- Victory for trophy hunters: in South Africa it will be possible to kill twice as many rhinos
- Pandas, tigers and rhinos: extinction alarm by 2050
- Illegal ivory: this is how the EU will protect rhinos and elephants
Tatiana Maselli
Photo credit: CIWEM
