If you followed the exciting events that unfolded on the 2nd of June on television – the ultimate human race – you may have spotted the outlines of dead rhino on the road at the last refreshment station.
In conjunction with and on behalf of the Wildlands Conservation Trust, advertising agency Global Mouse and its new subsidiary “The Mouse That Roared” used the Comrades Marathon as a platform to attract national attention to the continuing plight of the Rhino.
Over the last few hundred metres of Comrades route, just before the runners enter the stadium at the Wildlands Conservation Trust refreshment station, white painted outlines of dead Rhinos, similar to the lines painted around dead gangsters in the fifties in America, were painted on the road, accompanied by the Wildlands URL and the plea “Help stop the slaughter.”
“A lot of the Comrades Marathon is filmed from the air and we believe the sight of hundreds of “dead” Rhino lying on the road will be hugely impactful and a poignant reminder of the tragedy that is taking place on such a huge scale in front of our very eyes,” says Glen Roering, CEO of Global Mouse.
Wildlands Conservation Trust is one of the founding members of Project Rhino KZN, which brings together organizations with a common vision and goal, and identifies synergies to addressing the Rhino poaching crisis, through an integrated approach. With over 300 years of collective experience, Together with Project Rhino KZN, Wildlands has been able to identify priority rhino protection needs for KZN, and are working together with partners to fulfill them. Wildlands are also focused on their 3 projects, namely – Project Rhino Tracker; Project Rhino Aerial Support and Project Rhino Investigations and Prosecutions.
It is hoped that the increased awareness generated through the Comrades Marathon activation will assist in halting the grave threat to our Rhino population.
If you would like to DONATE funds towards the anti-rhino poaching fight visit www.localhost/import-data-post and click on the splash image on the home page that reads: “Help us stop the slaughter.”
WILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)