A good friend of Lemur Bags - Dr. Cleve Hicks - is a Field Primatologist who has spent his life circumnavigating the globe in search of his primate cousins. He spent 6 years in the Congo Basin slogging through swamps after western lowland gorillas and trekking across savannahs in pursuit of eastern chimpanzees.
Today, Dr. Hicks is still traveling to Africa regularly, but has found time to write and illustrate an entertaining book to educate children on the dire state of our wildlife in Africa.
Dr. Hicks' goal in A Rhino to the Rescue: A Tale of Conservation and Adventure, "aside from telling an entertaining tale, was to convey the sheer senseless waste of our destruction of the world's living creatures. Many wildlife guards are currently putting their lives at risk to protect rhinoceroses, elephants, chimpanzees, gorillas and other species from being slaughtered for bushmeat or as trophy animals."
He donates 10% of proceeds of the book to the Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit, South Africa’s majority female team of wildlife guards.
You can hear an interview with the author from Mongabay and see some of the book’s paintings by visiting this YouTube video.
You can purchase the book on Amazon in the US or UK, or around Europe, and in doing so, support the wild rhinos and the people looking out for them:
Field primatologist Dr. Cleve Hicks has spent his life following our primate relatives through forests, swamps and across savannahs. Now he has written and painted a children’s book about a dapperly-dressed civilized rhinoceros, Ernest Horningway, who travels to Africa to meet his wild cousins. The book provides a whimsical way for children to explore the world, but it also introduces them to the serious topic of the international trade in rhino horn and elephant ivory, which threatens to wipe out these beautiful creatures within our lifetimes. In the book, Ernest later travels to Asia and works with brave wildlife officials to break up a smuggling ring. The message is that we can all work together around the world to protect our precious natural heritage. The author donates 10% of proceeds to the Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit, South Africa’s majority female team of wildlife guards (http://www.blackmambas.org/). Recently their wildlife education team The Bushbabies, received 45 copies of the book to use in their teaching efforts. Your purchase of the book on amazon.com (in USA, Europe and other regions) will directly help protect wild rhinos and support the women looking out for them.
Be sure to Like A Rhino to the Rescue's Facebook Page and check out the book on Amazon.
Let us know what you think in the comments below!