The 'rhino men' who risk their lives to save the last rhinos

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This week:

• The 'rhino men' who risk their lives to save the last rhinos
• Spotting climate solutions on vacation
• 'Nuisance' beavers sent off to restore watershed

The 'rhino men' who risk their lives to save the last rhinos

Orlat Ndlovu started working at a gold mine straight out of school, but wasn't happy there. He loved nature.

When head ranger Anton Mzimba, who later became a colleague and close friend, offered him a maintenance position at the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa, he jumped at the chance.

Ndlovu began fixing roads and fences, and dealing with erosion control around the reserve, which borders Kruger National Park, one of the largest game reserves in Africa.

He finally felt at home surrounded by nature and people who would go to great lengths to protect it.

The rangers at Timbavati look after lions, elephants, leopards, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, hippos, crocodiles and a variety of birds. They do everything from controlling invasive plants to helping an injured animal caught in a snare. But the jobhas also become increasingly dangerous as rhino poaching has grown.

In 2008, the most recent rhino poaching crisis was just getting under way, and the reserve needed more rangers to focus their efforts on protecting the endangered and highly targeted rhino. Ndlovu had always dreamed of being a ranger, just like Mzimba, and he was finally getting his chance.

Rhino horns are a part of the illegal wildlife trade, namely because of their use in traditional medicine or as status symbols. They have higher value than gold, diamonds and cocaine on the black market, and because of that, a rhino is killed for its horn almost every 20 hours in South Africa.

Since then, almost 70 per cent of the rhino population in Kruger National Park have been killed for their horns despite efforts from the rangers.

Their efforts have now been captured in a feature-length documentary called Rhino Man. To help raise awareness about rhino poaching, Ndlovu toured with the film.

Almost a decade in the making, it was created by Matt Lindenberg and John Jurko II to give well-deserved recognition to those who risk their lives every day to protect rhinos in the Timbavati reserve.

Featured in the beginning of the film is the original rhino man, Martin Mthembu. He was killed in a car accident in 2014, but trained more than15,000 rangers alongside his close friends and business partners, Ruben and Marianne de Kock.

Mzimba was also featured in the film, and near the end of filming, on July 26, 2022, he was killed in his home. No one has been arrested or charged in his death. The filmmakers and his friends allege corrupt rangers retaliated after they were kicked out of the reserves.

The documentary also serves as a way to tell Mzimba's story and what he meant to everyone around him, as well as spread awareness about illegal wildlife trafficking.

It shows the gruelling selection process that rangers have to endure: waking up every few hours to complete a series of physical fitness tests and walking long distances with heavy sandbags.

But the gruesome images of rhinos who have been killed, and the story of rhino orphans who have been rescued but are ultimately attacked by poachers, help explain why the selection process is so tough to weed out those there for the wrong reasons.

The final stage is a panel interview and a lie detector test, to evaluate candidates' motivations. As a kid, Ndlovu spent his days exploring the bushes that bordered the small village where he grew up, developing a love for birds.

"I got frustrated when my friends would go out and start killing those birds," he told CBC from Atlanta. "Then, when I got the opportunity to become a ranger, I was like, 'Yes, this is what I want to do.' I want to protect nature, and here is the opportunity."

Despite death threats, Ndlovu has taken over as head of ranger services and has dedicated his life to protecting the rhinos just like Mzimba, who he trained under and then worked with for 14 years.

"I've learned a lot from Anton, but the most important part is to be yourself, know what you're doing and why you're doing it, and keep giving it your all," said Ndlovu.

He stressed that rangers can't run away from the intimidation tactics and must keep fighting.

"If it was something money-driven or you were being forced to do it, obviously, you're gonna feel the pressure," Ndlovu said. "But because it's something I've wanted to do from an early age, I think that's where I get all the courage and bravery to keep going."

Rhino Man will be available on Vimeo on Demand on July 26, the anniversary of Anton Mzimba's death. It will also be available on Amazon, Apple, Google Play,Vuduand Air Canada's in-flight entertainment system.

Bridget Stringer-Holden

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Reader feedback

Last week, Jill English wrote about the Paris Olympics organizers' efforts to make this the most climate-friendly Summer Games to date, and the impact of heat on the Summer Olympics. Janet Lewis of Esquimalt, B.C., suggests: "Regarding climbing summer temperatures at major sporting events, perhaps these events could be moved to a cooler time of the year, rather than risking the consequences of heat exhaustion."

Also, in response toGlori-Jeanne Stephenson'squery about helmets for bike sharing services, we mentioned that Vancouver'sMobi provides helmets, which are mandatory in the city, and helmet liners. This is according to the Mobiwebsite. But on a recent visit to Vancouver, we found no helmets at many Mobi stations, and never once saw ahelmet liner. So maybe it's best to bring your own.

Write us at whatonearth@cbc.ca.

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The Big Picture: Spotting climate solutions on vacation

Brazil has the largest share of renewable electricity in the G20, clocking in at 89 per cent, according to an analysis by the energy think tank Ember. That soaring score means the country has the lowest power sector emissions per capita in the G20.

Brazil earned its top spot by building up wind and solar installations atop a solid foundation of hydropower. Wind and solar provided 21 per cent of the country's electricity in 2023, up from six per cent in 2016.

While Canada can claim a solid No. 2 standing, thanks largely to our extensive hydroelectric base, we've been far slower to bring solar and wind generation online. In Canada's energy mix, wind and solar made up only seven per cent, compared to the global average of 13 per cent.

And where the majority of G20 economies are rapidly decarbonizing their power sectors France's emissions have dropped 22 per cent and Germany 19 per cent Canada's rose two per cent between 2022 and 2023.

The Ember report suggested G20 countries were in the best position to lead on the rapid growth of renewables. They accounted for 84 per cent of global power sector emissions in 2023, which, when combined, continue to grow.

In a statement, Kostantsa Rangelova, the author of the report, said, "The rest of the G20 can follow Brazil's successful model and lead the global transition to a sustainable energy future."

Hannah Hoag

Hot and bothered: Provocative ideas from around the web

• Some startups are using a low-tech way to store or remove carbon they're burying wood and other biomass deep underground to stop it from releasing its carbon into the atmosphere as it burns or decomposes.

• We recently wrote about bike and scooter sharing as a fast-growing kind of public transportation in Canada. A new report shows just how fast the number of trips increased 40 per cent in 2023 and also uncovers some interesting trends.

• Climate change is making days longer by slowing the Earth's rotation, a new NASA study reports.

• Copenhagen is offering perks such as free coffee, museum admissions and extra ski time to tourists who travel by public transit and bike instead of by car or taxi.

'Nuisance' beavers relocated, put to work in dried-up watershed

A pair of "nuisance" beavers that were causing flooding and damaging trees on farms near Merritt, B.C., have had their talents redirected elsewhere a nearby dried-up watershed.

The beavers named Thor and Edda by their rehabilitators were dubbed nuisances by farm owners after doing what beavers do: eating trees and diverting water.

They were removed in late June, and after a few weeks of rehabilitation, were released in the Nicola watershed, on Nooaitch First Nation land earlier this week.

"They are going to be released to do their good work of beavering ... and building wetlands," said Eva Hartmann, executive director of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society in Summerland.

Hartmann says beavers lived in the watershed historically, but the population had drastically diminished due to trapping, as is the case in much of the province. As a result, the wetlands have dried up. According to Parks Canada, beavers create wetlands by constructing dams, which store water, and by creating ponds.

Now, a project run by the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT), in partnership with the rehabilitation society and the Nooaitch First Nation, aims to put the beavers to work restoring the watershed.

"Beavers are good partners if they're in the right place at the right time," said Hartmann.

Although they were trapped separately, Edda and Thor appeared to know each other and got along when introduced in the rehabilitation facility, said Hartmann.

Hartmann said they try to release beavers in groups or pairs to increase their chance of success in their new home. After that, they are left to their own devices.

"Let beavers beave," said Hartmann.

Tom Willms, the biologist at NVIT leading the conservation project, says beavers play an important role in restoring ecosystems, particularly by constructing dams and creating ponds.

Not only does this benefit the fish that reside in the waters, but it also can help mitigate the effects of floods, drought and wildfires, Willms said.

In the watershed, his team has built human versions of beaver dams, and are reintroducing beavers to them.

They released Thor and Edda in a tributary that is important for salmon and steelhead, where beavers historically lived, according to Willms.

"We put them into an old beaver pond up there and they looked pretty happy, so it was a good day," said Willms.

Since the team began moving beavers last year, Willms's team has relocated nine beavers to the watershed, all nuisance beavers taken from private properties.

"It's really nice to be able to take some of these critters, that can be really destructive in terms of human infrastructure, and give them a new purpose," said Willms.

"I think it's a win-win for everybody."

Michelle Gomez

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Editors: Emily Chung and Hannah Hoag| Logo design: Skdt McNalty