The black rhinoceros is at the center of a conservation debate in southern Africa. On the black market, pound for pound, rhino horn is worth more than gold or cocaine. Those who purchase it believe it is an effective medicine or a status symbol.
Bill Weir
Jason and Martin, two Namibian wildlife conservationists/trackers, roll through the desert in search of endangered black rhinos. In the early '70s, there were still about 70,000 of the creatures. Today, only about 5,000 remain.
Bill Weir
A mother and baby desert giraffe have nowhere to hide during the midday Namibian heat. In this particular stretch of desert, it hasn't rained for over three years.
Bill Weir
Neighboring Botswana has banned hunting. The country's Okavango Delta is the world's largest inland river delta, sustaining a rich natural world. Fed by the Okavango River, the delta can be a watery labyrinth of narrow canals.
Bill Weir
An annual flood-tide pulses through the wetland system -- home to this pod of hippos -- and revitalizes ecosystems at a critical moment during the peak of Botswana's dry season in June and July.
Bill Weir
The Okavango Delta sustains robust populations of some of the world's most endangered large mammals including cheetahs, black and white rhinoceros, wild dogs and lions, all adapted to living in the wetland.
Bill Weir
Thanks in part to Botswana's progressive wildlife conservation laws, many parts of the wetland encompass a diversity (warthogs and all) rarely found outside Disney films.
Bill Weir
The delta comprises a mosaic of protected lands; the only dangers most of the animals here face are from natural predators like the African hawk eagle, feasting here on an unlucky slaty egret.
Bill Weir
More than 60 species of reptiles inhabit the Okavango Delta, including crocodiles.
Bill Weir
The Okavango harbors 24 species of globally threatened birds, including ground hornbills, wattled cranes and slaty egrets.
Bill Weir
Botswana is home to the world's largest population of elephants -- about 130,000 -- and the only country in Africa where the elephant population is growing. The Okavango Delta is the core area for this species' survival.