Night vision goggles help Rhino rangers against poachers

Local company, Cymot heeded the call to help with rhino protection from Save the Rhino Trust trackers this month and availed five Night Vision Bushnell Equinox Z Binoculars, valued at N$12 000 each to help in the field especially at night.

The donated binoculars are fitted with powerful infrared illumination, digital zoom, camera and video recording function, which makes it ideal for monitoring and evaluation of rhino in their natural environment.

Axel Theissen, Chief Executive Officer of Cymot, said their business is based upon the desire to explore Namibia’s wide-open spaces and our special wildlife.

“For the last two years, we have been supporting Save the Rhino Trust because we believe in the work they are doing and it is imperative upon us as a company to give back,” he added.

Cymot has been supporting Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) since 2015 with an annual sponsorship of N$100,000, which is given in the form of much needed equipment and tools and directly distributed to SRT’s team in the field.

“For more than 30 years, SRT has worked tirelessly to protect the desert- adapted black rhino of the Kunene and Erongo regions. From the point of near extinction, the rhino population has rebounded, and SRT is proud to be part of this success. But we owe much of our success to our supporters and we are extremely grateful to CYMOT for their dedication in supporting our efforts,” said Simson Uri-Khob, Chief Executive Officer of SRT.

Save the Rhino Trust was founded in 1982 with the mandate to monitor and conduct research on the desert-dwelling rhinos in the Kunene region. With the support of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, WWF, IRDNC, NACSO, conservancies and local community members, SRT is proud to be part of ensuring that the rhino population has grown and expanded over the past three decades.

SRT is the only rhino conservation group in Namibia that has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.