Bluefin

My Scholarship entry - A Difference in Value

South Africa | Monday, November 24, 2014 | 5 photos

The way so many majestic animals are valued is extremely polar. Some people will not only pay thousands of dollars to get to a place to view them, but then pay thousands of dollars to capture their images. I was fortunate enough to visit Kruger National Park and see animals I had only observed in a zoo, roam in their natural habitat. I was captivated by the grace of the large animals. How silently the elephants moved. How still a rhino can rest. During our time we spoke with rangers and park employees about the daily battles they have to preserve the limited population we have left. Every day thousands of elephants and rhinos are slaughtered through Africa just for a small piece of them. We heard stories of rangers risking and unfortunately losing their lives to protect the wildlife from barbaric killing. We learned that rangers are throughout Kruger, mostly camouflaged, but one day we happened upon a pair in the middle of nowhere. I wondered how long they had been out there, if they came across any poachers, and hoped they would make it back to their families safely. We ended our time in Kruger with a four day, three night hike through the park. Very quickly we learned how the battle against poachers is ravaging this park that is trying so hard to provide a safe home for these awesome creatures. Shortly into our hike we stumbled upon a skeleton of a rhino. We could see where the horn had been cut off. The ranger said the rhino was most likely still alive for this process. The ranger had to call it in so it could be investigated. It took a little bit of time so the group was chatting, but I remember looking over my shoulder and seeing the other ranger looking down on the skeleton with an expression of sadness and defeat. Why do so many still value these mesmerizing animals more dead than alive? How can we change that? How can we make someone not earn $30,000 from one elephant tusk? Not only is the valuation polarizing, but so was my visit to Kruger National Park. I was delighted, enthralled with the wildlife, but at the same time depressed at the what the outcome will be for so many of those beautiful animals I was able to witness.