The Red Mountain joint management area has received a new vehicle to patrol the region and strengthen the protection of desert-adapted black rhinos.
Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) and ultimate.earth contributed to purchase the new vehicle after the poaching of a pregnant rhino and her unborn calf in October 2025.
“Every rhino is important, but the loss of a pregnant female and her calf was particularly devastating.
“We need to respond by increasing our presence on the ground and strengthening the capacity of the conservancies and their partners to protect this population,” SRT chief executive Simson Uri-Khob said on Monday.
Vehicles will allow the conservancies who manage the area to increase patrols, monitor the area, and protect rhinos from poaching.
The Red Mountain area is jointly managed by Sorris Sorris, Uibasen Twyfelfontein and Doro !Nawas.
SRT gave N$280 000 to purchase the car and will provide a driver, while ultimate.earth contributed N$333 000.
Ultimate.earth chief executive Tristan Cowley said on Monday that tourism operators have a responsibility to protect the landscapes that support their businesses.
“Following the loss of Dorsland [the female rhino] and her calf, we felt that doing nothing was simply not an option,” Cowley says.
“As a Namibian tourism company, we believe our responsibility goes far beyond taking guests into these incredible landscapes.
“We benefit from conservation, so we have a responsibility to invest back into it.
“What has happened through Namibia’s conservancies is remarkable.
“Communities have protected wildlife, wildlife has made tourism possible, and tourism has created jobs, businesses and opportunities where there were previously very few,” he says.
