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Rhino conservation: How you can be involved This content is brought to you by the Impact Division of the Mantis Collection
Following a decade of intensive rhino poaching, six years of drought in the Eastern Cape and the impact of the pandemic on ecotourism, the responsibility of caring for the rhinos at Mantis Founders Lodge is onerous. In this article we outline the challenges facing rhinos, what is being done about it and how you can help.
The major challenges facing the rhinos at Mantis Founders Lodge
Since 2008,
rhino poaching increased by over 9,000% due to an unsustainable demand for rhino horn products in the Far East. This has seen numbers of the Southern White Rhino, reduced from nearly 30,000 to less than 20,000 today. Sadly, more rhinos are being lost than being born, meaning that this species is on its way to becoming extinct unless effective intervention is achieved.
Being part of the conservation solution: Travel Weekly travelweekly.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from travelweekly.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Dorine Reinstein
For the past few years, luxury tourism in Africa has revolved around exclusivity, sustainability, conservation and community upliftment. Many companies, however, were said to pay lip service to sustainability without being truly committed. Tourism industry players agree that if Covid-19 has had any positive effects, it is that the pandemic will pave the way for true sustainability and conservation.
James Haigh, head of sales at Lemala, said the luxury tourism companies that thrive will be those that are truly sustainable. We often heard companies say that their people are at the core of their business Haight said. However, the pandemic has shown this wasn t always true. The criteria to be sustainable are quite simple: Do right by your trade partners, your employees, your guests, your neighbours, the local population and wildlife. Then, you will thrive.