Black rhinos of Botswana and Namibia: Can hunters save them?

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Two men approach one black rhinoceros from opposite sides.

Both know that there are fewer than 5,000 of them left on the planet. Both shudder at the thought of this ancient species going extinct in their lifetimes.

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Tracking one of the world's last black rhinos

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They agree that the voracious Asian demand for rhino horn as a status symbol is fueled by ignorance and greed. They agree that the gangs of violent poachers who supply this black market must be stopped at all costs. But that is where their agreement ends, because one man carries a camera while the other carries a gun.

One is convinced that strict hunting bans and high-end photo tourism can save Africa’s iconic creatures from extinction.

The other believes that without the big-game hunter, there would be no big game. He argues that a man willing to spend a small fortune to shoot a rhino, lion or elephant is the best incentive poor African nations have to protect their wildlife.

In Botswana, ecotourism and conservation draw travelers

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The black rhinoceros is at the center of a conservation debate in southern Africa. On the black market, pound for pound, rhino horn is worth more than gold or cocaine. Those who purchase it believe it is an effective medicine or a status symbol.

Jason and Martin, two Namibian wildlife conservationists/trackers, roll through the desert in search of endangered black rhinos. In the early '70s, there were still about 70,000 of the creatures. Today, only about 5,000 remain.

A mother and baby desert giraffe have nowhere to hide during the midday Namibian heat. In this particular stretch of desert, it hasn't rained for over three years.

Neighboring Botswana has banned hunting. The country's Okavango Delta is the world's largest inland river delta, sustaining a rich natural world. Fed by the Okavango River, the delta can be a watery labyrinth of narrow canals.

An annual flood-tide pulses through the wetland system -- home to this pod of hippos -- and revitalizes ecosystems at a critical moment during the peak of Botswana's dry season in June and July.

The Okavango Delta sustains robust populations of some of the world's most endangered large mammals including cheetahs, black and white rhinoceros, wild dogs and lions, all adapted to living in the wetland.

Thanks in part to Botswana's progressive wildlife conservation laws, many parts of the wetland encompass a diversity (warthogs and all) rarely found outside Disney films.

The delta comprises a mosaic of protected lands; the only dangers most of the animals here face are from natural predators like the African hawk eagle, feasting here on an unlucky slaty egret.

More than 60 species of reptiles inhabit the Okavango Delta, including crocodiles.

The Okavango harbors 24 species of globally threatened birds, including ground hornbills, wattled cranes and slaty egrets.

Botswana is home to the world's largest population of elephants -- about 130,000 -- and the only country in Africa where the elephant population is growing. The Okavango Delta is the core area for this species' survival.

Survival of the fittest in Namibia and Botswana

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So who’s right? Which man holds the moral high ground? And in this age of manmade mass extinction, which one’s ideas will save the black rhino?

These are the questions that sent “The Wonder List” on safari, from the searing deserts of Namibia to the lush delta of Botswana.

We picked these nations because they are neighbors with very different ideas about species protection.

It turned out to be a good choice, because we encountered some of the most incredible wildlife scenes ever filmed and some of the most passionate debates in conservation.

A few years back, Botswana banned hunting. Private game farms still exist, but on state-owned land like the Okavango Delta, animals enjoy the highest level of protection in Africa.

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See Africa's expansiveness in Wonderlapse

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Meanwhile, next door in Namibia, tightly regulated “sustainable-use conservation” allows for hunting even the most endangered of species.

In 2014, the government auctioned off a black rhino hunt to a Texas oil heir, Corey Knowlton, for $350,000.

Namibian wildlife managers rationalized this by identifying a specific rhino for the hunt – one that was old, aggressive and well past breeding prime – and they vowed that the money would go back into rhino conservation.

But for countless animal lovers, that logic is cold comfort.

Knowlton received thousands of angry messages and dozens of death threats, while Zimbabwe’s Cecil the lion and the Minnesota dentist who shot him created the kind of firestorm that makes it reasonable to wonder: Which will go extinct first, the black rhino or the Great White Hunter?

Namibia’s Caprivi Strip: A wildlife wonderland

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2016.