On site in South Africa probably telling the most in depth story around the complexities of Rhino conservation. The amount of threads that need to be pulled to unravel this story is daunting.
Public:Private:Policy:Regulation:Poaching:Hunting:Trade
At its core things are quite simple:
1) wise use of $$$ to assign to resources to pay for rhino conservation and protection.
2) policies and regulations that enable rhino conservation and not disable it.
This truth is needed to truly understand how to move the needle on rhino conservation.
The look you give the cameraman when you realize how big 180kg lioness is … and how are you going to get her out of the helicopter?
#wildlifemanagement #sustainableuse #wildlifeconservation
A very interesting few days with @theoriginsfoundation and the team.. as always getting the dogs involved! Can’t wait to see what the team produce to show the best of our uplands.
#uplandconservation
“Strength lies in being able to express your emotions in a healthy manner.
You’ve got to allow yourself to sadness, the hurt, the pain, the fear, if you want to feel the joys of life as well!
Owning who you are. It doesn’t make you less of a man. It makes you more of a man!”
- McCoy Turner
#3peaks10k #TheRealMcCoy
“Please do not be sad…
I do not want you to mourn me…
I want you to celebrate the incredible life I have led.
Thank you…
I love you all.”
McCoy “Topsy” Turner
#3Peaks10K
Now that we’ve had some time to recover and properly take it all in, I just wanted to say a massive thank you ❤️
To every single person who donated, your generosity honestly means the world. Together, we’ve raised over £16,000 for McCoy’s boys, which is just incredible. The support has been overwhelming, and it carried us through every step of the challenge.
To everyone who took part in the “Topsy” workout over the weekend, whether you showed up, threw down, or supported in any way — thank you. Seeing the community come together like that was something really special.
A huge thank you as well to Donna, Kerri and the one and only Sanders for supporting us out on the hikes themselves, that meant more than we can properly put into words. And to the camera crew - Jack, Lewis and Euan, who hiked with us and captured it all on video — thank you for being part of the journey and helping us share it. To the people we met along the way, for the encouragement, conversations, and kindness, you all played a part in getting us through it. It is clear through these conversations that suicide affects so many people in so many ways. Be there for eachother!
To everyone who has completed a workout in McCoy’s name, at any time, that doesn’t go unnoticed. It all matters. It all adds up. And it all honours something bigger than ourselves.
Thank you to all our sponsors who thought we were crazy, but still stood by us, without your support this weekend wouldn’t have happened 🙏🏼
- @roguefitness
- @jottnar
- @platatac
- @edgarbrotherspmd
- @inov_8
What started as a challenge became so much more because of all of you.
Truly grateful 🙏
— Rob Davs Dave
She heaves a breath, her sheer mass weighing her down and making breathing under a tranquilizer a great labor. Thick legs twitch and tremble under the stress. Putting a hand to her side is both in reverence and feels deeply conflicting. This kind of wild should not be touched.
She lies in the sweet smelling grass, whiffs of the bushman tea crushed under her weight trickle over the light hot wind. The smell of Namibia is deep, soulful, and pulsing.
She is blindfolded, drug from the dart in her back keeping her mostly immobile, for her safety and ours.
We work around her. Low voices and quick as possible. You can feel the stress. Blood samples, tissue samples, tail hair, ear notch, microchips, rhinovax, and a leg collar. It is invasive and brutal. Measures against poaching for the keratin horn on her face. It is over in less than 10 minutes.
For eight of these rhinos the upheaval is not over. A huge two trailer truck with a mounted crane rumbles and clanks into the veld. An invasion into habitat.
We reverse the drug partway, get her huge body into a safe half sitting position, eyes still covered. And with a short burst from a cattle prod and many hands lifting she stands. Unsteady but upright. Guided by bodies on either side she is walked to the crate. Metal doors clanging closed with lock bars and pins. The sound is all too human and final.
The crate is hoisted into the air, anchored to the truck with heavy chains and transported 2 long hours by dusty dirt road. The drug is fully reversed, doors thrown wide and she steps into the heat and sun of her new ground. Watched by those of us standing atop the crates.
Forever remembering the terrifying sound of the helicopter and the invasive hands of humanity, she leaves our view.
We stand still. Some quiet, some talking lowly. Relief at seeing healthy rhinos step from their crates is palpable….but there is something else hanging in the air. The pregnant pause of something un namable. Half way between hope and a deeply conflicted regret. I am left melancholy, wondering how on earth that horn is worth more separated from her than part of her and this place.
*cont in comments*
We have no fun filming together, none at all….
Is the laughter sleep deprivation, actual humor, too much caffeine, or maybe a mix of all three…😂
🎥 @slotsmedia
In the spirit of continuing our giving and love for our team …
My ride or die team of cinematographers @slotsmedia x @mutambofilms on some other shoots this year 😘
#dreamteam
