Rhino Rangers, Namibia
2024 - Rhino Rangers Namibia - donation of USD 15,000
The efforts of Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) to protect the world's last truly free-ranging population of black rhino in West Kunene experienced both some highs and some lows in 2024.
The patrolling efforts, which are entirely in the hands of the SRT, were once again improved. Overall, all four rhino monitoring targets for the year were met or exceeded. The fact that over 5,000 rhino sightings were reported for the first time since the SRT was founded is particularly noteworthy. In addition, the ranger teams covered over 55,000 kilometers on foot, and the field teams also discovered some missing rhinos, including Droster, who had not been sighted for almost 5 years. Sadly, only four new rhino babies were born in 2024 due to the drought and a number of deaths were recorded, including two confirmed cases of poaching - the first in over four years.
Rhino Pride Campaign
The two main initiatives of the Rhino Pride Campaign, the Rhino Cup Youth Champions League and Reading with Rhinos, have continued to develop well. Additional funding was secured for the Rhino Cup in 2025 and the growth of the reading program was expanded to over 1,100 students. In addition, a new Rhino Beadwork project was launched with local female artists to attract a new female audience to the Rhino Friends Team.
How it all began..
In 2011, with the increasing threat of poaching, local community leaders and game rangers saw the need to improve their capacity to protect rhinos on their land. A handful of dedicated conservationists, with the support of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, formed an informal working group to provide targeted support to community rhino custodians. This first initiative was called the Ranger Incentive Programme. Under this program, specialists from the SRT, Integrated Rural Development & Nature Conservation and Minnesota Zoo train talented groups of local people, selected and nominated by their communities, to become Rhino Rangers. The program offers an enhanced training curriculum, state-of-the-art rhino monitoring equipment, and performance-based cash bonuses that provide an incentive to conduct quality patrols. After five successful years of growth of the Rhino Ranger Programme, it became clear that the commitment had to be extended beyond the rangers to the wider community in order to achieve a sustainable and far-reaching impact of rhino conservation. Thus, the Rhino Pride Campaign was born in 2017. At the heart of this approach is the conviction that a future for Africa's wild rhinos can only be secured if poaching is simply not tolerated by the local population and if a rhino is worth more alive than dead. The campaign deliberately strengthens emotional connections to rhinos such as pride, gratitude and compassion through strategic activities in schools, communities, on the football pitch and in everyday life.
More success stories related to this project
Our partner
Jeff Muntifering - Save the Rhino Trust
Our local partner is the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT). This organisation has been working to protect rhinos in north-western Namibia for over thirty years, and it is largely thanks to their dedication that stocks have stabilised and recovered. The Save the Rhino Trust works closely with local communities, the Ministry of Environment (MET) and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Approximately 75% of SRT’s efforts are allocated to field patrolling and monitoring. Everything depends on this work: without accurate information about the rhino population’s performance trends, SRT cannot make decisions about regional tourism, Ecological Carrying Capacity, make recommendations to MET about the target animals to be translocated etc. Monitoring the rhinos continues to be the prime activity. Its long existence reflects an exceptional relationship of mutual trust between its partners, a highly successful commitment to the rhino, and a deep-rooted understanding of sustainable tourism in the region for the benefit of the animal world.
The organisation’s most important task is to monitor and observe the rhino. This scientific work offers essential insight into the rhino's way of life and forms the basis for the sustainable development of tourism and inclusion of the local community.
Born and raised in Minnesota (USA), Dr. Jeff Muntifering has spent the last 15 years of his professional career designing and delivering applied research, training and community-based programs to advance conservation practice while living and working out of remote field stations around the world. Currently, his time is primarily spent between Namibia and China where his work with local communities, government and private sector tourism takes a multi-disciplinary approach to improve conservation efforts for two critically endangered species, the Black Rhino and Przewalski’s Horse.
In Namibia, Jeff has worked with Save the Rhino Trust, a highly respected local Namibian organization, since 2003. His applied research on rhino biology, ecology, eco-tourism and incentive-based, community-led approaches to rhino conservation over the past 15 years has helped inform a variety of innovative management policies including community-based monitoring programs, eco-tourism protocols and re-introduction strategies. He also co-founded and currently coordinates the Conservancy Rhino Ranger Incentive Program, a highly successful community-based rhino conservation program that has been showcased in multiple global case studies. Jeff has also spent significant time in China since 2001 where he works closely with the State Forestry Administration and Beijing Forestry University on high profile projects including South China tiger and Przewalski’s horse recovery efforts. Here he hopes to utilize his Namibia experience to advance science-based management, community-based monitoring and eco-tourism approaches in a Chinese context.
He has also conducted field research in Alaska, Canada, Minnesota, Ecuador, Honduras and South Africa primarily targeting large carnivore conservation and restoration. He has published more than a dozen scientific articles, book chapters, and has provided numerous presentations to both academic and general audiences.
He lives and works primarily out of a remote field camp in north-west Namibia known as World’s End with his wife Basilia and their 2 children.
CV Dr. Jeff MuntiferingLearn more about these animals
