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Main | Science / Natural History Picture Story | First Place
First Place
Brent Stirton
Getty Images

"RHINO WARS"

Second Place
Palani Mohan
Reportage for Getty Images

"THE KAZAKH EAGLE HUNTERS"

Third Place
Kacper Kowalski
Panos Pictures

"TOXIC BEAUTY"

Award of Excellence
Carsten Peter
Freelance

"INFINITE CAVE"

Award of Excellence
Joel Sartore
National Geographic Magazine

"UGANDA'S LAST EDEN"

Award of Excellence
Steve Winter
Freelance

"A CRY FOR THE TIGER"

First Place
Brent Stirton
Getty Images


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"RHINO WARS"

Images of a Black Rhino Bull that has been shot 4 times by poachers and had the stump of its horn removed, Save' Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe, April 23, 2011. This Rhino had already been de-horned by a vet in order to deincentivize poachers on the property but the poachers shot him anyway and brutally removed the stump of horn that remained. He was left for dead but was found wandering through the bush approximately 4 days after the incident, his face bleeding and screw-worm breeding in the wound. A decision was made to keep the animal alive rather than put him down and heavy doses of anti-biotics were administered. This Rhino died from his wounds one week after this photo was taken. Save' Valley Conservancy has lost a total of 66 Rhino to Poachers since 2002, including 10 in 2011. Rhino game ranchers in Zimbabwe speak of a number of issues when it comes to protecting their animals in Zimbabwe. There are issues of politics which affect the number of tourists that visit, this has been very low since 2000. Despite the fact that the Rhino actually belong to the state, private ranchers are asked to hire government Rangers from the State at considerable expense in order to protect them. This makes the economics of raising Rhino very difficult. Issues of security are difficult as it is hard to procure automatic weapons from a paranoid government and prosecution for the shooting of poachers can be very biased towards the locals. There is a perception on the part of government that training of Rangers is paramilitary and thus a threat.