Milking the Rhino

Because of changing times and changing cultures, Kenya and Namibia – two of the oldest cattle nations in the world – are in upheaval. In Kenya, the wild animals were previously seen as dangerous predators to the villages and livestock; their only value was as a food supply. An acrimonious existence plays out between the animals, struggling to maintain the forest as their home, and the people, trying to make a living to survive. Bucking the trend of “white man's conservation,” which usually only yielded new game reserves, there are now initiatives that might make coexistence possible and offer paths to cultural preservation for the villagers. One, imagined through the vision of James Ole Kinyaga, is in the form of the Il Ngwesi Group Ranch and Lodge, whose primary intention is conservation and the introduction of new kinds of tourism to the area. Across Africa, in Namibia, a similar eco-tourism initiative unfolds when overpopulation destroys the grazing lands. Opinions are mixed with the villagers in both locations. Some understand that the conservation efforts sustain tradition and bring new life; others are wary of exactly what it could bring, namely outsiders. Lacking in some of the usual clichés of nature documentaries, MILKING THE RHINO is a fascinating look into the everyday living in some of the oldest cultures of the world and their shifting reality. – C.C.P.