A tough hide and a valuable horn. Such is the appeal of the latter that rhinos—both black and white—sit squarely on the endangered list. In addition to the armed guards that have featured in previous posts, another key defence for Matopos’ rhinos is cutting off the horn of the adults. In the first photo you may notice that the adult’s front horn is shorter than usual and more rounded? De-horning takes place annually and, while it might seem a tad brutal, it means that the risk for the poacher—you’re now very familiar with the guards and their guns—outweighs the gain. I have heard that the horn has little practical use for the rhino, but this is a human judgement and I can’t help but wonder what they think when they wake up to find that its gone. A little light headed and feeling that something is amiss in the world? Whilst Matopos has populations of both black and white rhinos, what you see in the photos are the white variety: distinguished by the square mouth (for grazing on grass) rather than the pointed upper lip of the black rhino (for selecting fruit etc from shrubs). It was a real privilege to have been able to get close to these rare animals as they graze, snooze or walk (at some speed) through the bush.