Cape Town Rhino Project 2015

HERSCHEL: OUR RHINO with the BIG HEART

The 22 September marks world rhino day. The question is what does this mean for us?

South Africa has the highest rhino population in the world. In 2014, poachers killed 1215 rhinos in South Africa. This means that every 8 hours one rhino is killed. This year already 749 rhinos were poached.

Caused by the high amount of poaching,​ which is entertained by several Asian countries, rhino conservation has indeed become a big theme in our country.

But there is also something good about Rhino Day because it is not only informing you about the sad fate of the rhino but now you can decide to be the change you want to see in the world.

You can be the one informing others about what you have learned and with that raise awareness and convey the message of change.

The Herschel rhino carries many messages:

• The heart represents the rhinos alive today. We want to keep the heart beating.
• The shadow, which has no heart shows the current and rather bleak prospects of the future existence of rhinos in the wild.
• Poppy flowers are symbolic of the killing fields in Europe of the two World Wars. The Poppy flowers on Herschel’s horn represent the killing fields in our game reserves as more and more rhinos are brutally poached. Remember the 749 rhino’s killed in 2015 already!
• The protest art inside our Herschel rhino illustrates how people who care are grieving at the thought of how the rhinos are suffering. The art outside the Herschel rhino illustrates the voices of the people trying to make a difference.
• The eco-bricks at the feet of the rhino symbolize the responsibility of humankind to build a sustainable future for all living things including Herschel and her brothers and sisters now and in the future.
• The flowers which represent Spring, hope and new beginnings express a longing for humankind to take responsibility for God’s beautiful creation.

I ask you to take the initiative and take a photo of a rhino and post it around the world to raise awareness in order to save our South African rhino before it is too late.

 

The Herschel Rhino at the Waterfront

 

The big heart

 

 

Protest art inside the Herschel Rhino sculpture