He’s been involved with wildlife conservation charities for years, but this week, Harry is definitely a Prince on a mission.
Harry is currently in South Africa at the Kruger National Park where he is getting involved in rhino and elephant protection with Save the Rhino.
During his stay, the royal has taken some stunning shots of both the wildlife and the landscape through his own lens, which he has shared on the official Instagram of the palace, @kensingtonroyal.
The shots show Harry getting down and dirty to help the local rangers and vets in their work to rescue, heal and reintroduce wild African animals.
Whilst in South Africa, Harry also gave a speech at the South African Wildlife College, where he opened up about his love of Africa and its animals.
“My love of Africa has never been any secret – it’s just been a huge part of my private life. I’ve always wanted to keep it like that until I had the experience of age to give something back to a place that has given me and so many others the freedom and space we all crave,” said Harry in his speech.
“After a summer working alongside rangers, I now fully understand the skill you bring to your work, the sacrifices you and your families make for you to do it, and the perseverance you demonstrate every day in the face of huge challenge,” said Harry.
“To those of you graduating today can I say congratulations – you are part of a profession that cannot be appreciated enough and that is dealing with very difficult circumstances. In my view: rangers are heroes.”
“There is no pretending that any of this will be easy. It won’t be. But when we win this battle and reverse the rise in poaching, the victory will belong first and foremost to those of you here on the frontlines. So let me thank you for all you have done and all you will do,” he finished.
“This was the second time Zawadi, a female black rhino, met someone from my family. My brother William fed her three years ago in Kent just before she left under a translocation project to Tanzania where she now lives in a sanctuary. Thanks to the passion and stubbornness of Tony Fitzjohn OBE and his amazing rangers, she and many others are living it up in the bush and their numbers are growing. She goes nuts for carrots and I loved being able to send William this photo.
Hats off to Tusk Trust.”
“After a very long day in Kruger National Park, with five rhinos sent to new homes and three elephants freed from their collars – like this sedated female – I decided to take a moment. I know how lucky I am to have these experiences, but hearing stories from people on the ground about how bad the situation really is, upset and frustrated me. How can it be that 30,000 elephants were slaughtered last year alone? None of them had names, so do we not care? And for what? Their tusks? Seeing huge carcasses of rhinos and elephants scattered across Africa, with their horns and tusks missing is a pointless waste of beauty.”
Prince Harry shares intimate personal photos from wildlife tour – Feeding Rhino Baby
“A female rhino who had her horn hacked off by poachers in 2012. She now has a baby calf called Thembi.”
“I was working with Dr. Mark Jago and Dr. Pete Morkel in Namibia. Some countries are de-horning small populations of rhino to deter poachers from shooting them. It is a short-term solution and surely no substitute for professional and well-trained rangers protecting these highly sought-after animals. De-horning has to be done every two years for it to be effective and can only realistically be done with small populations in open bush. My initial task each time was to monitor the heart rate and oxygen levels and help stabilise them as quickly as possible. My responsibilities then grew to taking blood and tissue samples and the de-horning itself.”
“By this point many people will have heard of ‘Hope’, a young female black rhino that was brutally wounded by poachers in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. This was the second operation to try to save this animal’s life. Some poachers use a dart gun and tranquilize the animal so as to not have to fire a shot that would be heard. They then hack their face off while the animal is paralysed before running off with the horn. Local communities saw her stumbling through the bush and then alerted the authorities. Thanks to Dr William Fowlds and his team, Hope survived and is making a speedy recovery. I stared into her eyes while operating on her and thought at first that it would have been better and fairer to put her down rather than put her through the pain. Afterwards I was told of another female called Thandi who was in a similar state in 2012. She now has a baby calf called Thembi.”
Prince Harry shares intimate personal photos from wildlife tour – Rhino
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