This month, we celebrated World Wildlife Day in partnership with the Southern African Wildlife College, Coq en Pate, and Garmont to send learners from our Future Rangers Program on a safari experience to see the iconic African Wildlife for the first time. They were excited to meet one of our ‘Careers in Conservation’ stars, Precious Malapane, and learned about the possible careers they could venture into within the conservation space. They then met Ashwell Glasson, SAWC Registrar and highly experienced field guide who led them on a game drive in a ‘Big 5’ area, bordering the Kruger National Park.

Read more about this amazing day here!

We are beyond excited to share with you our official poster for RHINO MAN the movie. This has taken months to bring to life and we are forever grateful for the beautiful people who have worked to make it happen. The poster features the film’s hero, ranger Anton Mzimba, surrounded by black rhinos and a stunning collage of flora, with the subtitle, “Would You Risk Your Life To Save A Species?”

A huge thank you goes out to the incomparable artist Marcel van Luit, who put his heart and soul into designing the artwork at the core of this poster. His enchanting image is sure to grab anyone within eyesight of the poster, drawing  them deep into the story. Please follow Marcel and his amazing work at marcelvanluit.com.

Another big thank you goes out to the photographer Emma Gatland, who took this fantastic photo of Anton, who is at the center of the poster. Follow Emma and her amazing wildlife photography at www.emmagatland.com.

Keep an eye out in the coming months. Eventually, we’ll share with you how you can get your own copy of the poster and support the release of the film.

The last month of The Rhino Man Podcast has been a busy one. Host John Jurko had deep dive conversations with both Anton Mzimba and Ruben De Kock, lead characters in our film RHINO MAN. Their conversation covered multiple topics, including the importance of rangers, ranger training, rhino conservation, their friend Martin Mthembu, and how they got to where they are.

John also had great conversations with wildlife veterinarian Dr. Johan Marais, on what it’s like to save the survivors of poaching incidents, and with investigative journalist Jacqueline Cochrane, on transnational organized crime and the rhino poaching crisis.

Hours of conservation stories to connect you with the people and work on the ground. Make sure to subscribe, rate, share, and review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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To further celebrate the completion and upcoming release of RHINO MAN the movie, GCC Board Advisor and “Voices of Nature” host Bob Ludke sat down with the filmmakers and lead characters to discuss the 6 year filmmaking process. During this conversation, the panel discusses some of the trials and tribulations of the filmmaking process, and focuses on Anton and Ruben’s stories and why rangers are so important to maintaining biodiversity in these protected areas. Anton also does a great job describing why and how reserves need to engage and work with surrounding communities to make sure they can benefit from the resources within.

Listen to the episode here
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“Here in South Africa, it’s the end of the first term and our students have gone on their autumn break. The GCC ground team has taken this opportunity to meet and reflect on the current Future Rangers program structure. The team went on a 3-day workshop at the Southern African Wildlife College to discuss and evaluate the program and brainstorm more ways to continue adding more schools and students to the program. The team also evaluated the three pillars of the program: The Future Rangers App, programmatic elements and curriculum, and our partner engagement process.

‘It’s amazing how a change in scenery influences the ability to reach greater depth in thought and action,’ explained Future Ranger’s Facilitator, Lefa Malapane.

During our working sessions, the team developed multiple steps for moving forward, including creative high school activities to impact the youth in higher grades. This will assist in the development of each learner’s profile in the GCC Future Rangers App and help us identify students with a passion for Careers in Conservation to ensure that their path is paved and their future is bright, thus realizing GCC’s mission to bridge the gap between local communities and protected areas.”