Wildlife Warrior

• Josie Tranter, Grade 5, Kurri Kurri Public School
• Short Story
• 2017

2nd in the 'Spread The Word 2017' competition

Waiting, patiently, camera at the ready! Silently watching, listening for any sound. My crew (including Bob the cameraman and Will the sound technician) had set up camp in Zambia’s Luangwa National Park hoping to catch a glimpse of the majestic black rhino.
My name is Joey Attenborough (yes, David is my Dad) and I am on a mission to document the plight of those remaining black rhino and save them from extinction.
Suddenly, a beautiful rhino as dark as ash appears in the distance. I stare at the camera screen in shock, Will looks like he’s won a million dollars and Bob’s mouth is hanging open! If he’s not careful, he will swallow one of the thousands of flies buzzing around us. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Our camera rolls as we watch the rhino frolic and play in the muddy waterhole. Water buffalo, elephants, wild dogs and impala are silently quenching their thirst a short distance away. It is a wondrous sight.
I should be enjoying the moment but something doesn’t feel right, the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. I feel like I am being watched. I hear a twig snap and quickly turn around but can’t see anything. I return my attention to the rhino and try to ignore the nagging feeling that we are not alone in this wilderness. After about two hours, the rhino moves on so we pack up and head back to our base.
The next day rolls around as quick as lightening. We set out at 5am hoping to see a rhino basking in the glorious sunrise. Instead, we are horrified to find a dead rhino! Its horns have been heartlessly cut from its body and it must have slowly bled to death. I have to look away. Hot tears stream down my face, I am sad but also furiously angry. Here lies an adult, male, black rhino weighing roughly 1200kg who has been senselessly killed by poachers, most likely so its horns can be used in Asia to create medicine.
Now I know why I felt like I was being watched. The poachers must have been following us. Two could play that game. I furiously tried to find vehicle tracks. There they were. “Yes!” I shouted. We followed the tracks carefully and stumbled across the poacher’s camp. I was devastated to find many horns. Bob filmed the grizzly scene.
Without wasting another second, we called the authorities and gave them our location. They arrived before the poachers had returned and were able to camouflage themselves. When the poachers showed up, the authorities pounced. The hunters had become the prey. Bob caught it all on camera.
We returned home to edit and release our documentary. It went viral and drew worldwide attention to the crisis of the black rhino. This was a small victory; unfortunately, we all knew the battle to save the black rhino would rage on.