Durban march for rhino and elephant
Dozens of activists are currently marching from Snell Parade at the Durban beachfront as part of a global call to action by governments and animal protection organisations in stopping poaching and ivory trade.
They are warning if the indiscriminate killing of rhino and elephant continues at the current rate, these animals will be wiped out in just a few years’ time.
Author Brian Conell writes about the bush and its animals.
He explains the elephant and rhino are landscapers and their being mega-herbivores is crucial for the existence of other animals in the wild.
"If there were elephants all the grassland would be covered in forest in a very short period of time. Without the white rhino the grass would seize to exist and be covered in forest, without the black rhino the bush will encroach.
"Once there is no grass there are no prey animals. All the animals that graze will die of starvation. Once their gone the predators will die," he said.
(File photo)