The Last Rhinos: My Battle to Save One of the World's Greatest Creatures

I hesitated to give this book a high rating because it wasn't what I was hoping for: an account of the way intrepid humans saved a bunch of rhinoceroses, filled with charming anecdotes about rhino behavior. I don't know what I was thinking when I expected that, because I know the situation for all the rhino species is unspeakably dire. Co-author Graham Spence says he thought of calling the book "Blood Horn" and that might have been a more direct approach to indicate that this book is, at least in part, an outraged call to action. The Last Rhinos as a title feels contemplative and wistful, as if there is nothing left to be done, and unfortunately, that is the attitude that too many people are already taking. There are only three rhinos in this entire book. Lawrence Anthony never even gets to meet a single member of the subspecies he's trying to save before they're utterly gone. Instead of the happy stories I somehow expected, this book is a fact-and-experience-based indictment of the fatal disregard humans have for the other species on this planet.A single anecdote about the rhino who lives in Thula Thula, Anthony's reserve in South Africa, serves to belie the idea that rhinos are not intelligent or adaptable, and I will treasure that. Perhaps to try and make up for the general lack of rhino experiences, Anthony intersperses what becomes a bizarre and scary narrative of human politics with incidents involving elephants, bushbabies, buffalo, and other wonderful animals. All the stories point to his deep belief that animals are as worthy as humans to occupy their space and live undisturbed. At a couple of points, he comments that any person who spends enough time with animals will witness evidence of their intelligence and sociability. There are also many examples that make the reader appreciate the difficulty of the life of conservationists in the wild and the talent and bravery of people who work with endangered animals.The beginning and much of the rest of the book kept me on the edge of my seat with exciting, suspenseful and true occurrences, definitely material for the cinema. Please, someone, make a movie of this book (perhaps with a few more darling rhinos in the film version) and show it to people who consume rhino horn.Because Anthony does not accomplish any of his goals for the rhinos. Absolutely everything goes badly wrong, often causing physical reactions in this reader. To top it all off, before the book was published, Lawrence Anthony passed away, and the animals lost their incredible champion. We're still here, and we need to step in for them because, incredibly, these half-ton, armored creatures with giant swords on their heads can't defend themselves from human greed. There's still a chance to turn this sad story around for the remaining rhinos.The Northern White Rhino is the largest animal to go extinct since the woolly mammoth.

Thus was easy reading. The author introduced you to the beauty of wild animals and the tragedy of these animals surviving poachers, warring tribes, govt politics. It was incredible to learn the relationships the game keepers had with these wild creatures and their dedication to saving them from extinction.

Lawrence Anthony was truly dedicated to conservation. His tireless efforts to save wild animals in the bush took him to some very scary places and his interaction with potentially dangerous people underscored his determination. His passion was unrelenting.In "The Last Rhino's" he travels extensively to keep the small remaining group of rhino's from permanent extinction , which was a daunting task given the popularity of poaching.This was very educational and really underscores both the need to stop poaching altogether and eradicate the myths surrounding medicinal value of ground ivory.Unless we ban together to carry on his vision, our grandchildren will never be able to see wild animals other than in the zoo's. We are destroying these magnificent animals at alarming rates all for the sake of greed. Lawrence knew this and made his life's mission to do something about it.This book is more than just an interesting read. It raises the bar and sets an example for us all how "we" collectively can make a difference.

This book is an excellent read and one really develops much empathy for the plight of the White Rhino. The determination of Lawrence Anthony to conserve not only the White Rhinos but also the other wild animals in danger of extinction. One can view this book as a sequel to his previous book "The Elephant Whisperer" another excellent book which I read before I started and finished reading this book. Lawrence went to incredible lengths, even negotiating with rebels in the Congo in order to save the rhinoceros which is now an endangered species because of heavy poaching. The indiscriminate killing of rhinos for their horns which are made into powder and used as an aphrodisiac in the Far East. It is an immense tragedy that rhino horn is very expensive and profitable for the poachers and their partners. As the author says, rhino horn is keratin, the same chemical that human finger nails are composed. Eating finger nail clippings would have the same affect as rhino horn which is no affect at all as an aphrodisiac.He tells us about the poachers cruel methods to kill rhinos. While reading of his experiences and his great love and passion for the animals he tried to save, one develops a hate for poachers, and in my honest opinion, they should be shot in the same way as they killed animals for money and nothing else. Not only do poachers deserve the death sentence for murdering animals they also destroy the ecosystems and balance on which every living creature depends.If only there were more people of the caliber of Lawrence Anthony,the earth would be a far better place and wild life would abound unhindered. The personal sacrifices that he had made to achieve the goal of saving endangered animals had taken its toll on his health and unfortunately he passed away suddenly just before receiving an award for his wonderful endeavors. He has left a rich legacy to the world of conservation and it is my wish that there would be many people who would follow his great example in preserving animals.This book is an exciting read and it is very difficult to put down. One almost feels as if one is accompanying him on his challenging crusades at great financial cost to himself to achieve the noble goal of his belief in assisting animals in distress because of poacher cruelty.

This is another very compelling story by Lawrence Anthony (with Graham Spence). His first book, 'The Elephant Whisperer' was an amazing account of how he acquired Thula Thula his private reserve in Kwa Zulu Natal and helped a herd of rogue elephants recover from their traumas.  The Elephant Whisperer: Learning About Life, Loyalty and Freedom From a Remarkable Herd of Elephants African rhinos are the victims of mass murder by ever more sophisticated and well financed poachers who gain untold wealth from the new rich in east Asia fuelled by the superstitious nonsense they espouse about the magical effect of rhino horn.In 'The Last Rhinos' Lawrence Anthony has periods of recuperation in the restorative environment of Thula Thula but the main storyline of the book is worked out in North East Congo and Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan. That's because the last rhinos of the story are the final remnant of the northern white rhino species which are isolated and waiting a poacher's bullet in a nominal reserve in Northern Congo. That reserve happens to be home to other 'wildlife' in the form of the military command and foot soldiers of the Lord's Resistance Army who have been engaged in a savage war with the Ugandan army for 20 years or more.In his effort to rescue the last remaining rhinos, Lawrence Anthony is drawn into the role of 'Godfather of Peace' for the LRA in the efforts to bring about a peace settlement between them and the Ugandan government. It is a remarkable account of how he became a trusted intermediary between the LRA and the outside world and is tasked by them to get the message across that they really want peace and to return home in peace to Uganda. First he meets their political leaders forming the delegation attending peace talks in Juba. He gains their confidence and support for protection of the rhinos in the region they occupy. That leads to a difficult and dangerous journey to meet with the military leaders in the jungle of northern Congo.It seems incredible that any conservationist should find himself in this role, meeting alone with a group remowned for their barbaric warmongering. It would be wrong to say that he paints a sympathetic picture of the people he meets but he does believe that they are war weary and want it to end, though on the basis of African justice.In the end the forces of militarism on both sides win out over the attempt at peace. You will find out what happens to the isolated population of rhinos when you read the book. It ends with a happy picture of two orphaned baby rhinos introduced into Thula Thula and some little hope for tomorrow.Sadly, before this book was published, Lawrence Anthony died in March 2012 following a heart attack. His voice for conservation of the rhino and elephant is now silent. The Elephant Whisperer: Learning About Life, Loyalty and Freedom From a Remarkable Herd of Elephants

The Last Rhinos - Lawrence Anthony & Graham SpenceI had to wait till my birthday before receiving this book as a gift from my very special friend and if I'd known what a powerful, awesome book I would be getting, I may have moved my birth date up a few months so that I could have received it earlier!After reading Babylon's Ark and Lawrence's singlehanded determination to rescue the animals abandoned in horrific conditions thanks to the Iraq war, then his remarkable rescue of Nana and her herd of very traumatised elephants (The Elephant Whisperer) I'm not sure what I was expecting when I first started this book - was he just going to get some rhinos from somewhere local in South Africa? No! Lawrence has heard through two friends who are journalists that there may be still be some northern white rhinos left in Garamba Game Reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - unfortunately, this area is also where the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) are situated.After futile efforts to get the Democratic Republic of the Congo on his side to help him rescue these rhinos, Lawrence decides to go where normal men fear to tread; he contacts the LRA and goes off to meet them.One quote sums up the experience: "This was David Livingstone territory. It was as feral a place as you'll find anywhere on the planet. More Europeans or Americans had probably climbed Everest than had been to a place like this"To tell more would spoil the experience of reading this astonishing book.When Lawrence Anthony died we not only lost a hugely dedicated conservationist, we lost a man who through his work, managed to motivate people to help prevent the animals walking the planet with us (particularly rhinos & elephants) from being totally wiped off the planet. Thanks to his efforts to try to save these last few rhino, Lawrence reached out to an army (LRA) who are so reviled for all the damage they have done and yet, because of his dedication and statesmanship managed to persuade them to help him rescue these rhinos.One last quote from the book on how the elephants reacted to his death:"But yet, but yet . . . the night he died, they were right there outside his house. And they came every evening for the next week as the sun set, until his ashes were scattered on the land he loved. Then they left.

It's about conservation, it's about the Rhinos but it also is about the most extraordinary situations that Lawrence Anthony finds himself in and how utterly capable and incredible this man was. What a loss to the animals and society. As with all his books, this does not disappoint. Highly recommend this and all his books!

Read The Elephant Whisperer some years ago and was intensely moved (even more so by the stories of the elephants' annual visits after his death), so very interested to read this. I am awed by Lawrence Anthony's dedication to conserving wildlife in very difficult circumstances. His death was a sad loss but hopefully his legacy lives on. It's a while since I read this book so I'm afraid I can't remember too much detail but if you enjoyed The Elephant Whisperer I'm sure you'll enjoy this.

I gave up on this book about half way through. By this point there had been very little mention of rhinos. The book so far is about African politics with a few repeated paragraphs from the Elephant Whisperer. I bought the book to read about rhinos not politics.