The fight to protect Africa\u2019s rhinos has taken centre stage in a new documentary that brings together filmmakers from across the continent.<\/p>\n
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Wild Hope Rhino Ops is the latest production by the Nature Environment and Wildlife Filmmakers collective, known as NEWF, in partnership with Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife. The film captures one of the most ambitious rhino dehorning operations ever undertaken at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal.<\/p>\n
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The documentary forms part of the Wild Hope series, a project inspired by the book Wild Hope on the Front Lines of Conservation Success by Professor Andrew Balmford of Cambridge University. The film explores local stories of conservation through the eyes of Africans leading the work on the ground. It follows Dumisani Zwane, the head of Ezemvelo\u2019s game capture unit, and his team as they carry out the massive dehorning operation aimed at saving more than a thousand rhinos from poachers.<\/p>\n
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Noel Kok, Co-founder and Executive Director of NEWF, said the organisation was created to change the way African conservation stories are told. Too often, he explained, Africans are shown only as guides or rangers in international wildlife productions rather than as scientists, filmmakers and leaders. \u201cIf you want to change the story, you change the storyteller,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are proud that this film is led and told by Africans.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The operation documented in the film was launched in response to a surge in rhino poaching that saw more than 300 animals killed in the park last year. Although controversial, dehorning has been shown to reduce poaching by lowering the black-market value of the animals. Kok said that while some people object to removing the horns, the procedure does not hurt the animals and the horns grow back over time. \u201cIt is not a perfect solution, but it is saving lives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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The film was written, directed and edited by South African filmmaker Nathan Rice and brings together expertise from nine African countries under the guidance of Executive Producer G Luck. It premiered in the United States on October 6 on PBS Nature\u2019s digital platform and is now being entered into film festivals around the world. Plans are under way to translate it into isiZulu as part of Ezemvelo\u2019s community outreach efforts, ensuring that people living near conservation areas can also see the film.<\/p>\n
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NEWF hopes to have Wild Hope Rhino Ops broadcast on national television as a celebration of African leadership in conservation. \u201cThis story shows that we are capable of telling our own stories and leading the way in protecting our natural heritage,\u201d Kok said.<\/p>\n
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