22. RHINO MAN Behind the Scenes With the Rangers and Filmmakers

In this episode we speak with some of the filmmakers and lead characters in the Global Conservation Corps documentary film, RHINO MAN. The movie is about the South African field rangers who risk their lives to protect the rhinos from poachers. John Jurko II and Matt Lindenberg have been working on the film for the last 6 years. The main storylines they follow are those of Sergeant Anton Mzimba of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve as he protects the reserve from threats, and Ruben De Kock as he takes a class of 41 candidates through a ranger selection program at the Southern African Wildlife College. During this conversation we hear some of the trials and tribulations of the filmmaking process, but we mainly focus on Anton and Ruben’s stories and why rangers are so important to maintaining biodiversity in these protected areas. Anton also does a great job describing why and how reserves need to engage and work with surrounding communities to make sure they can benefit from the resources within. Rangers are the front line of conservation, but it will take a holistic approach to make real change.