Thoughts of Africa tend to conjure up images of the continent’s iconic wildlife; cheetahs zipping across the plains, a pride of lions stalking a herd of wildebeest, and the unmistakable silhouette of a rhino surveying his territory at sunset. Sadly that last image may soon become more of a memory that a reality due to daily threat rhinos face from poaching. Rhinos are being killed for their horns at an alarming rate, incidences of poaching have risen by more than 300% in the last four years, from 333 in 2010 to more than 1020 animals in 2014. At this rate it is estimated that the rhino population could become extinct within 20 years.
The #JustOneRhino campaign aims to raise funds in order to relocate endangered rhinos from South Africa to the less populated Botswana where stricter regulations offer greater protection for this dwindling species. Helmed by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, wildlife photographers and naturalists known for their work with National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative , Rhinos Without Borders has a goal to move 100 rhinos at a cost of over 8 million dollars as well as educate and provide resources for the anti-poaching “Tusk Force” in Botswana. Join Travelers Building Change, Green Travel Media and the Great Plains Foundation in their efforts to raise $45,000-the cost of relocating#JustOneRhino.
How can you help?
Donating to #JustoneRhino will gain you the opportunity to win some amazing prizes thanks to over 20 generous sponsors.With your donation you’ll receive a number of entries for a raffle with a random drawing on March 3rd, which is World Wildlife Day. Here is a quick look at what you can win:
International Expeditions
10-day Galapagos Voyage for one. Value $5,298
Adventure Life
South Africa Big Five Safari: Kruger & KwaZulu-Natal + Swag Bag for 2 people. Value $5000
Cobblers Cover Hotel, Barbados
Seven nights bed and breakfast in a Garden View suite. Value $5,187
Yemaya Island Hideaway & Spa, Nicaragua
10 nights’ stay & wellness package for two people at Yemaya Island Hideaway and Spa on Little Corn Island, Nicaragua. Value $5,241
Secret Retreats
• Vouchers for 2 people at Bali Jiwa Villain in Bali, Indonesia. Value $1,000
• (2) Vouchers for 2 people at The Scent Hotel in Koh Samui, Thailand. Total Value $3000 ($1,500 for each 2-person package)
• Vouchers for 2 people at 4 Rivers Floating Lodge, Koh Kong, Cambodia. Value $900
• Vouchers for 2 people at Flower Island, Palawan, Philippines Value $900
Other prizes include:
• eBag Luggage
• WeWOOD Watches
• Dinner/Brunch Cruises
• 2 nights in an Italian Villa
• 2 Tours in India
• ExOfficio Gift Certificate
• 2 nights Renaissance Asheville
• Travel Blog Success Lifetime Membership
• African Elephant Photo Pack
• HDR Timelapse Video Camera w/Lens
• Blogger Mentorship Package from Green Global Travel
[button link=”http://www.travelersbuildingchange.org” size=”large” color=”green”]Please Donate[/button]
I have already made my donation through Travelers Building Change and I hope you will join me. Together we can all help to save #JustoneRhino.
Jenna says
Awesome! This is such an important cause, and I’m happy to see so many bloggers helping to get the word out. Do you know if the vacations you mentioned (e.g. Galapagos Islands) include airfare? I’m assuming not.
Brianna says
To my knowledge airfare is not included in any of the trips. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the South African safari though!
Vicky and Buddy says
Wow, I had no idea the situation was that bad. I’m going to share this post on my personal Facebook page. Hopefully people continue to get involved and help save these amazing creatures.
Brianna says
Thanks for sharing, I think education and getting the word out will be the best tool in helping these rhino’s.
Brianna says
Thanks for sharing, every little bit helps.
Ana O says
What a great cause. I will be sharing this all over my social media.
Betsy Wuebker | PassingThru says
This is such a worthy cause. We were happy to donate and can’t wait to win our prize! (LOL fingers crossed!)
Brianna says
Good luck, I’m hoping for the safari myself!
Revati Victor says
Congrats on getting on board with this Brianna! I first heard about the initiative on Dave’s blog and i’m just so inspired by you guys!
Brianna says
You guys should join in, its not too late!
Chris Wotton says
What a worthwhile cause – and the rise in poaching is shocking! Great work you’re doing here.
Brianna says
The rate of poaching is simply mind boggling, hopefully we can do something to help reverse this trend.
Shikha (whywasteannualleave) says
This is a great cause Brianna! When I did a safari in Southern Tanzania, we didn’t see any black rhino and we were told we probably wouldn’t as they are so rare – and given these risks of poaching that you’ve mentioned here, I guess that’s even more likely to be the case.
Brianna says
It’s sad to think that within one generation they may be completely wiped out!
Sky says
The statistics in this are absolutely heartbreaking. This is such a wonderful campaign and I hope it surpasses the goal!
Brianna says
I hope so too!
Dana @ The Talking Suitcase says
Thanks for sharing about the #JustoneRhino campaign. I donated.
Brianna says
Thanks for donating. I hope you win big!
Francesca One Girl: One World says
What a great cause, I hope it surpasses it’s goal as well! Even if it doesn’t it will have informed thousands of people about a problem that many of us didn’t know existed. I can’t believe we live in a place where a whole group of beautiful animals could be extinct in such a short period of time!
Brianna says
The rate of poaching is staggering, with more education I hope we can reverse these trends.
Megan says
Thanks for sharing. Definitely learned something new. A great cause to get the word out about.
Brianna says
Definitely, I happy to be among a group of fine bloggers getting the word out.
Raphael Alexander Zoren says
Saving Rhinos should always be a priority!
Brianna says
I agree!
Katie @ Domestiphobia says
Wow, great cause but so sad it’s even necessary. Poaching is such an awful waste — how is this allowed to keep happening??
Brianna says
I wish I knew Katie. Hopefully efforts like this can help reverse the alarming rate of poaching.
jen says
Wonderful cause and a great post to generate much-needed support. I always think about my lessons about the food chain from grade school. It all fits together!
Brianna says
Its crazy think about all the senseless killing and that an entire species may be gone in a generation.
Bente Vold Klausen says
I think this campaign is awasome and hope a lot of people will donate. I have written a post my self and donated. The situation for the Rhinos and many other animals are so bad and so sad that it is necessary to run these kind of campaigns. Your post was great!
Brianna says
Thank you so much for your time and donation, we are that much closer to saving #JustOneRhino!
Tim says
Great cause and a very alarming statistic for rhinos and elephants. Twenty years is not a huge amount of time so it is a critical operation. Kudos to you for bringing more light to the subject.
melody pittman says
Great job and I’m sure they appreciate the help. I first read about this on Dave’s site and it’s been on the forefront of magazines and TV shows a lot lately as well. I will be glad to make a donation, but will try to get some people in my community (Boquete) to donate as well. I absolutely love Rhinos, they are so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Lois Alter Mark says
What a great campaign and important cause. I can’t imagine a world without rhinos.
Brianna says
Me neither, definitely one of Africa’s most iconic creatures.
Local Adventurer (Las Vegas Blog) says
it’s kind of crazy to think how certain species of animals have become extinct in our lifetime. when we went to galapagos we learned how one species of the giant galapagos tortoise has died out recently.
Brianna says
Our planet is definitely more fragile than we think.
Geeky Explorer says
I’ve already contributed. I’m always outraged by what man can do to animals. I just hope they find a better and safer place!
Brianna says
Thanks for your donation, here’s to hoping that the rhino’s fare better in Botswana!
samiya says
Wonderful cause and really happy to see so many travel bloggers sharing and spreading the message! Already donated and sharing this across all social media as much as I can, thanks for writing it..
Brianna says
Thanks for your donation and for helping to get the message out!
Milosz Zak says
What an incredible species of animal! Conversation needs to come before tourism, and it’s very good to see that sanctuaries like these operate to that end. Thanks for sharing!
Andi says
My hubby and I got to go to backstage at San Diego zoo and was extremely upclose to a rhino, we pet and fed it and it is a magnificent beast. I give to the WWF every month and would be happy to support this cause!
Brianna says
Every little bit helps Andi, the WWF is a fabulous cause as well!
Lauren says
This is an amazing cause and thanks for helping to spread awareness about it! I really hope they are able to raise all of the money they need to relocate one rhino 🙂 Thanks for linking up with #WeekendWanderlust!
Vasudha Aggarwal says
Great initiative. Thanks for sharing Brianna.
Would be happy to support this cause !
Emma says
What a wonderful cause. It’s awful to think that many animals and species will disappear from this planet in our lifetime. I’d hate for my future grandkids to never see a rhino, or a lot of other wildlife, in real life.
Elena says
Great initiative. Thanks for sharing
Carmen | Carmen's Luxury Travel says
What a great story and cause. Thanks for sharing. I’ll definitely look into it.
Veronika says
Hey Brianna, great that you also support this initiative. I’ve heard of it and already donated. I hope they’ll get all the funds needed!
Luckily, there are also other initiatives. For example, Czech Republic has returned 4 rhinos from a local zoo back to their natural habitat in Namibia, where the rhinos are now happily getting used to the environment and where they’re well protected.
Laura says
It’s so good seeing such a great cause getting so much attention. Thanks for curating these trips too. Will definitely bear them in mind
Victoria says
Thanks for sharing the information on such an important cause. I will definitely be looking into donating!
Nina Travels says
Rhinos are so beautiful. We visited their sanctuary in Uganda and walk among them. Such an unforgetable experience. The wild hunters killed the last rhino in Uganda years ago, but the sanctuary started breeding them and planning to release them back into the wild. Hope they will manage!