African Travel, Inc. and TreadRight Foundation invite North American travel advisors to help name newborn endangered black rhino in contest to win an educational trip to Southern or East Africa. The rare male baby rhino was discovered on a reserve in South Africa.
Submissions will be accepted at africantravelinc.com/content/name-baby-rhino from Nov. 17 to Dec. 1, 2020. If an advisor’s name is selected, they will receive a free educational journey to Africa in 2021 or 2022.
The final name selection will be made by Ami Vitale, TreadRight’s “Wildlife” Ambassador and award-winning National Geographic magazine photographer who captured the final moments of Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino alive on the planet in Kenya.
The Eastern Cape Province in South Africa is home to the third largest endangered black rhino population in the world, and evidence shows it is currently a high-risk target for poachers. Because rhinos prefer thick vegetation, aerial surveillance is necessary and plays a critical part in both wildlife security, and in tracking and improving the management of rhino populations. Since 2017, TreadRight has partnered with Wilderness Foundation Africa to aid in rhino conservation efforts by funding the purchase and operations of a Bat Hawk, a light aircraft used to monitor and protect rhinos from poaching in provincial nature reserves and national parks in the Eastern Cape. The regular surveillance through monitoring flights by the Bat Hawk in the known rhino poaching hotspots is contributing to the safekeeping of this endangered population.
Since the start of 2020, 19 new baby rhinos have been discovered and protected within the rhino population, 11 of which were first detected in the TreadRight-funded Bat Hawk. As a thank you, Wilderness Foundation Africa has given ATI—a founding partner of The TreadRight Foundation invested in protecting and rehabilitating the world’s wildlife by partnering with leading wildlife organizations, through its Wildlife Pillar—and TreadRight the invaluable honor of naming one of these new baby rhinos.
“The sustainability of Africa’s wildlife and protection of local cultures will always be our most paramount concern. Our social responsibility is to have a positive impact on the people and communities we visit, to help protect wild and marine life, and to care for the planet we all call home,” says Sherwin Banda, president of African Travel, Inc. “We believe wildlife conservation is an important element of sustainable travel and we couldn’t be more grateful to have this special opportunity to share with our North American travel advisor community and clients,” he adds.
After the name submissions are received, African Travel Inc. will select the shortlisted names and Ami Vitale will be making the final decision. The winning travel advisor will be chosen and announced on Dec. 4, 2020 and the winner will receive further details about African Travel’s new educational program to choose a date and destination.
The “Name a Baby Rhino” contest is open to travel advisors in the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Canada, and must be 18 years or older as of date of entry. Entries for the contest must be received prior to no later than 11:59PM PST, Dec. 1, 2020. Prize is (1) complimentary spot on a 2021 or 2022 educational trip to Southern or East Africa. Trip includes 7- to 9-night hotel and lodge accommodations, intra-Africa economy air, transfers and select safari experiences. Prizes are non-transferable and awarded “as is,” with no substitutions.
To submit visit africantravelinc.com/content/name-baby-rhino.
