Africa’s largest free population of black rhinos lives in the semiarid zones of Damaraland, in what is now Kunene Region in north-west Namibia. The name “white rhinoceros” used to refer to the square-lipped type is actually a distortion of the Afrikaans word “widj”, meaning wide, a characteristic that distinguishes it from the rarer black species.

The number of animals has declined almost to the point of extinction, but this trend has been reversed thanks to the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT), established through the collaboration of the government, local communities and important initiatives such as Wilderness Safaris. The aim is to protect the species by stopping poachers and to benefit the local community through conservation and tourism.

The Desert Rhino Camp is unique, offering the chance to follow black rhinos on foot and explore their ecosystem with some of Namibia’s best-prepared guides, accompanied by the Trust’s trackers, who monitor the animals daily.