The Enemy Inside: Rhino's Protectors Sometimes Aid Poachers
It says a lot about the state of the war against poachers in Africa that the Lewa Conservancy, a private sanctuary in Kenya with 12 percent of the country's rhinos, recently appointed a CEO who has never studied zoology or biology. Instead, Mike Watson is an ex-captain in the British army.
His training has already come in handy. Take, for instance, a visit to a crime scene earlier this year: a rhino carcass splayed out in the mud.
Watson holds a black-and-white photo, a kind of rhino mug shot. Kenya has only about 1,000 rhinos, and each one is branded with a distinct pattern of ear notches and registered in a countrywide database. Watson is able to use the photo to identify the dead creature. His name is Arthur.
“ Even if we improve the fighting force, they will still outdo us because the price for rhino horn has risen so significantly.