Mossel Bay's Responsible Tourism Photo Group has offered its services to help a local game reserve - Gondwana Private Game Reserve - to record the capture, tagging, and release of its rhinos, as part of the group's contribution to the fight against rhino poaching.

According to the African Conservation Trust's Sheelagh Antrobus, "By 10 July, 272 rhinos had been killed in South Africa this year.

"Rhino poaching in this country is not declining, it's escalating," she said, "and the poachers are targeting the private reserves as much as the state-owned reserves."

Sean Snyman, the co-ordinator of the Responsible Tourism Photo Group, said that the group is committed to creating awareness of the need for conservation and good stewardship.

"We started the group when we took part in Responsible Tourism Week 2012, which was an on-line 'unconference' co-ordinated by Ron Mader of www.planeta.com, in which people around the world shared information and images to generate knowledge about and support for the concept of Responsible Tourism.

"Responsible tourism is all defined as creating better destinations for people to live in, and better places to visit, and one of the pillars of this way of thinking is developing a healthy and thriving environment - for people as much as for animals."
He said that the rhino - like the rest of the Big Five (elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo) has become an icon for the general state of conservation.

"We're very concerned about what's happening, and, since visual material is key to the education process, we believe that our photos and videos will help to create awareness and to sensitise people to what needs to be done.
"You can never have too much education!"

The 11 000 hectare Gondwana Private Game Reserve - about 20km west of Mossel Bay - is the only fynbos reserve in the world where the Big Five can be seen in a free-range environment.

Its attractions and activities include game drives, birding, horseback safaris and a Junior Ranger Programme - all under the guidance of qualified rangers - as well as spa treatments and luxury accommodation in a variety of lodges and bush villas.
General manager Neil Davison said that the details of the capture and tagging of the Reserve's rhinos must be kept confidential for security reasons.

"We recognise, though, that it's important to tell the world what we're doing, both for our animals' sake, and for the sake of rhino conservation in general.

"We're totally committed to conserving the Big Five - and all the other species on the reserve - and we've agreed to let the Photo Group record the tagging process because it's an excellent and unusual way of increasing the public's knowledge of conservation."

Mossel Bay Tourism board member and town councillor Emil Scheepers said that the Photo Group has already made a positive contribution to the cause of responsible tourism in the town.

"In the modern world, we have to chip away at our old ways of doing things one bit at a time if we're going to emerge into a more equitable, more environmentally friendly way of living and working," he said.

"The Responsible Tourism Photo Group is showing us how awareness and education - and even positive change - can be achieved with nothing but passion and the clever use of modern technology.

"We're very fortunate to have them in Mossel Bay."

Mr Snyman said that the group's first event - a Responsible Tourism Week Photo Safari - took place over three hours on 18 February.

"That's how they're done the world over," he said.

"It's about getting together to uncover the hidden secrets in destinations, and to tell the stories of your town's cultures through personal interactions."

He said that the group is now planning to run a national Responsible Tourism Photo Safari during next year's international Responsible Tourism Week (February 11-17).

"We're going to take it to the nation, and to use the opportunity to raise funds for the fight against rhino poaching.

"The experience we gain at Gondwana will give us new insights that'll help us to do what we love to do better than ever before - and with more impact."