Rangers patrol the fence line of a game reserve in Northern Zimbabwe. Benzine Sibanda and Senzani Tshabangu work for the International Anti-Poaching Foundation founded by Damien Mander.

Tokkie Botes flies his private helicopter almost daily to patrol for signs of poachers, deliver vets to injured rhinos, and sometimes picks up and flies orphaned rhinos to an orphanage that will accept them.  Tokkie pays for fuel and maintenance of the helicopter out of his own pocket because he and others like him are committed to protecting rhinos from extinction.

Two members of Pittrack's anti-poaching unit and Tokkie Botes discuss the events that led to a pregnant cow being killed by poachers. Poachers shot the rhino which caused it to flee, and while in pursuit the poachers were forced to leave before taking the horn. The rhino kept running until blood loss lead to her death and that of her unborn calf.

A rhino runs free on a private game reserve in South Africa. With ample armed security on the reserve, anti-poaching rangers have been able to stop poaching without dehorning the animals.  To reduce the chances of the rhinos being killed, cutting off a majority of the horn is a common practice on some reserves.  Providing security is very expensive for reserves that have rhinos, but necessary to keep them alive.

A moment just before Abia Sekome and his anti-poaching unit leave on foot to patrol a game reserve located near Kruger National Park in South Africa. This region of South Africa has had the largest number of poaching incidents in the country. The rhinos at Blue Canyon Conservancy are dehorned, yet require constant security because even a nub of a horn can be worth up to $70,000 per kilogram on the black market.

Rangers discuss their anti-poaching strategy at Limpopo-Lipadi, a private game reserve in Southern Botswana. To ensure the animals' safety, they patrol the vast property solely on foot to look for signs of poachers.

At the Southern African Wildlife College students learn a variety of skills to help them become successful rangers, guides and conservationists.  They receive classroom and field instruction on how to properly handle firearms, combat poachers and learn about South African laws intended to curb or stop poaching.. 

Petronel Niewoudt's compassion for caring and protecting orphaned rhinos is contagious. Her love for what she does at Care for Wild (CFW) shows in every aspect of her work and life. She is a force of nature, and self-admittedly "doesn't think small." That's clear in her plans to continue enlarging the reserve. Given the current state of rhino poaching and the number of baby rhinos orphaned, the CFW team plans to expand the boundaries to provide more room and a permanent home for rhinos affected by poaching.

Nearly all the rhinos at Care For Wild (CFW) are there because their mothers we killed by poachers.  Without CFW, all of the orphans in their care would likely have died from exposure, malnutrition or attached by predators.  Sometimes the baby rhinos try to defend their wounded or dead mothers from the poachers, and are also killed.

Blackie is one of the tracking dogs being trained at Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC).  Dogs are trained and sold to private game reserves that use them to help deter poachers or track them if they are on the property.  The dogs are incorporated into the curriculum so students have hands-on experience if they find jobs where sniffer dogs are used.

Poachers do not discriminate and are just as likely to shoot a tracking dog as they would anti-poaching rangers.  In Paige’s case, she was being trained off-leash by one of the handlers at Southern African Wildlife College when she came upon a leopard in the bush. The leopard seized Paige by her head, and dropped her a few seconds later when the handler startled the big cat.  Surprisingly, Paige recovered from her injuries and was back on the trail soon after. It proves that the hazards in the bush are not restricted to poachers.

Picket is the Senior Warden at Stanley & Livingstone Private Game Reserve in Zimbabwe.  He is also the Senior Ranger for the International Anti-Poaching Foundations (IAPF), which provides protection for the animals in the reserve.  IAPF was founded by Damien Mander who learned that rhinos were being slaughtered at an alarming rate, and wanted to do something to help stop or apprehend poachers before they could kill more rhinos.

Senzani Tshabangu is working out before going on patrol.  He a ranger for the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, which has been on the ground combating poaching in Southern Africa since 2009. Rangers on the Stanley & Livingstone Private Game Reserve patrol on foot up to eight hours a day so it's crucial that the rangers are in top physical condition at all times.

Nearly all the rhinos at Care For Wild (CFW) are there because their mothers we killed by poachers.  Without CFW, all of the orphans in their care would likely have died from exposure, malnutrition or attached by predators.  Sometimes the baby rhinos try to defend their wounded or dead mothers from the poachers, and are also killed.

A juvenile orphaned rhino looking for some attention at Care for Wild (CFW) sanctuary in South Africa. Like most of the rhinos at CFW its mother was killed by poachers. If it had not been brought to CFW or another orphanage, it's extremely likely the calf would have died in the bush from exposure, starvation or killed by predators.

These rhinos have had their horns removed to reduce the chances of poachers killing them. Even then, poachers will kill rhinos for even a small amount of remaining horn because it currently is worth $70,000 per kilogram – more than a kilogram of cocaine and gold combined.

While on patrol in the bush, Benzine Sibanda poses with his rifle for a portrait in Northern Zimbabwe. Benzine has worked for the International Anti-Poaching Foundation for seven years and has had more than a few hair raising encounters with wildlife and poachers during his time there. 

International Anti-Poaching Foundation rangers are constantly on the look out for signs of poachers within the Stanley & Livingston Private Game Reserve.  They patrol at night in harsh, dangerous conditions without torches (flashlights) to illuminate their way.  Even with such a disadvantage, they are trained to look for signs of poachers and avoid walking into a heard of elephants or pride of lions in the dark.

Near Kruger National Park in South Africa, rangers leave to patrol for poachers on horseback. Safety is a huge concern amongst rangers regardless of location. For security and personal safety reasons these individuals asked that their faces not to be shown, as poachers can target rangers and their families to get information about where rhinos are located.  Poachers acquire the sensitive information using bribes, intimidation or by threatening the ranger's family.  

Nearly all the rhinos at Care For Wild (CFW) are there because their mothers we killed by poachers.  Without CFW, all of the orphans in their care would likely have died from exposure, malnutrition or attached by predators.  Sometimes the baby rhinos try to defend their wounded or dead mothers from the poachers, and are also killed.