Last Rhinos
An extraordinary story of life on a South African game reserve from the 'Indiana Jones of conservation' and the authors of The Elephant Whisperer.
Lawrence Anthony's South African game reserve is home to many animals he has saved, from a remarkable herd of elephants to a badly behaved bushbaby called George. When one of his rhinos was brutally slaughtered for her horn, he didn't hesitate to lead an armed response against the poachers. Then he learned that there were only a handful of northern white rhinos left in the wild, living in an area of the Congo controlled by the infamous Lord's Resistance Army and soon to be hunted into extinction. Lawrence knew he had to take action.
What followed was an extraordinary adventure, as he headed into the jungle to negotiate with the rebels, while battling to save his own animals from terrible drought and to save the eyesight of his beloved elephant matriarch Nana. The Last Rhinos is peopled with unforgettable characters, both human and animal, and is a sometimes funny, sometimes moving, always exciting read.
'Anthony was a charismatic figure whose life combined Gerald Durrell-esque animal antics with Wilbur Smith bush heroics . . . a rattling read with an urgent message' – BBC Wildlife Magazine
Lawrence Anthony was a highly-respected conservationist and co-founder of The Earth Organization, an international environmental group. He is the author of The Elephant Whisperer, about his time with a herd of 'rogue' elephants, and Babylon's Ark, about his involvement in saving the animals in Baghdad Zoo, and The Last Rhinos, detailing his involvement in rescuing the remaining Northern White Rhinos in the Congo. He sadly died in 2012.
Graham Spence is a freelance journalist and author.