My name is Austin Stevens.
I’ve spent over twenty years photographing the world’s most dangerous animals.
Now I face, quite literally, my biggest challenge yet.
Austin: “There’s rhinos all around me.
I dare not move.”
Austin: “Africa – as it once was and still is
in some places.
This is the home of the big five.
Early hunters named the big five as the most dangerous animals to approach on foot, even
with a gun.
Lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and elephant.
Four of those big five live right down here.
The member of the big five that I’m searching for could bite off a man’s finger with no
effort at all, but it’s not a lion.
This animal can run faster than an Olympic sprinter, but it’s not a leopard.
It’s the rhino.”
The white rhino is one of the planet’s giants.
Over two tonnes of armour-plated bone and muscle.
It’s heavier than a large car.
Its name refers not to its colour, but comes from the Africans’ word for wide, because
of its lawnmower of a mouth.
The black rhino is its turbo-charged cousin.
Easily distinguished by the hooked upper lip it uses to grasp its food.
Its rarer, more elusive and more dangerous.
Both are surprisingly quick, can be extremely aggressive and it’s the first time I’ve
taken on this freight train of an animal.
Austin: “My assignment is to get pictures of rhino.
But not just any long-range shots.
I’m going to go in on foot, get low down and close up.
I want to fill my frame with rhino.”
But finding a rhino, even in Africa, can be a tricky business.
Austin: “To get the pictures I’m looking for,
all my research points to one place and I’ve traveled two thousand kilometers from my home
in Swakopmund in Namibia, across Southern Africa to get to the little country known
as the kingdom of Swaziland.”
Swaziland is Africa’s last traditional monarchy.
It’s a largely mountainous country, almost completely surrounded by South Africa.
And it’s tiny – just one hundred miles across at its widest point.
I’m heading for the eastern lowlands to Mkhaya, the place for rhinos in Swaziland,
and one of the few places in Africa where I can find and photograph both types.
Austin: “I’ve especially come in the winter months,
when it’s dryer and cooler, I’ve got a much better chance of seeing the rhinos in
the day.
There’s been a lot of unusual weather; I’m a bit worried about the…hey, hey, hey.
Hang on, hang on.
Here.
Oh, I’ve always wanted to photograph one of these.
This is a banded Egyptian cobra, which is now called a snouted cobra.
Look at those colours.
Look at those bands; they’re fantastic.
I’ve gotta get a shot of this guy.
At the same time, I’ve gotta be very careful because he’s highly, highly venomous.
Are you there, boy?
Look at that hood.
Isn’t he gorgeous?
Does he seem to think.
There we go.
There we go.
Oh, now, now he’s realized.
These guys have got a neuro-toxic venom and it’s very potent.
One drop would be enough to kill you.
There’s tiny little fangs right in the front of the mouth and they bite pretty fast.
Come on, just for a moment.
There we are.
Look at that.
Is that gorgeous, or what?
He’s gonna suddenly turn on me; I know that.
I know that.
That’s fantastic.
Come on.”
Austin: “Here we go.
Okay, there.
Look at me.
That’s the shot.
Wow.
I mean, I’m actually looking for rhinos; I wouldn’t normally stop.
But a snake like this is phenomenal.
That’s, that’s a picture.
That’s a picture.
Wow.
Look at that.
He’s clever; he doesn’t keep still for one minute.
I’d love to get a few more shots.
There we go.
That’s it.
Oh yes!
No we’ve got attitude.
That’s angry cobra.
Okay, there we go.
And when he’s like that, that’s when you can actually get his attention.
Can you see my hand?
Watch, he’s watching my hand.
But I want him to watch the camera, and I want to touch him behind the head.
Just like that.
Shouldn’t do that when you’re so many miles out in the bush.
Okay, I’m going to pick him up and show him that he can go on his way and then he’ll
be fine.
Oh no.
Don’t try and bite me.
That’s a good boy.
I’m gonna let him go right over here where I found him and he can be on his way again.
Off you go.
There we go.
I got so excited about that, I even forgot about my tongs and I think my sunglasses are
lying here somewhere.”
I’m used to snakes, even the dangerous ones.
I’ve spent my whole life working with them.
But rhinos are something else.
To survive a close encounter with one of them, only to learn a whole new set of rules fast.
This is Mkhaya – classic lowland Savannah, studded with thorny scrub.
Perfect habitat for one of the most dangerous animals on the continent – the rhino.
If you don’t believe the textbooks, ask the locals.
They’ll all tell you the same thing.
Austin: “Have you got petrol here?”
Attendant: “Yes.”
Austin: “Please, can I, can I fill it up?
Yeah, I can pump.
Yeah.
Sure.”
Rhinos are notoriously unpredictable and if they feel threatened, they will attack.
You can’t rely on your vehicle providing too much protection.
Austin: “What actually happened over here?”
Attendant: “This accident was caused by a rhino.”
Austin: “Really?”
Attendant: “Really.”
Austin: “A rhino pushed a hole through it?”
Attendant: “Yes.”
Austin: “Wow.
Can you believe what this guy’s just told me?
Just hold it there a second.
Look at this.
Land Rover body.
Rhino hit it, went right through, ripped the whole thing in two pieces, bent this over,
buckled it completely.
These are powerful animals I’m looking for.”
Just imagine the sheer power of an animal capable of doing that.
But all the big five are dangerous, and all of them, apart from lions, are right here
in Mkhaya.
Austin: “My first encounter with the big five.
And this is the biggest of them all – the elephants.
It looks like I’m just in time because they’re already leaving.
It looks like they’ve been drinking, splashing around; you can see how wet the side is.
Now they’re getting ready to throw a bit of mud and dust on themselves and probably
go off into the bush.
Even elephants, as big as they are, disappear like, just like that into the bush.
I can’t believe it.
That’s really good luck, then.
First of the big five.”
And too good an opportunity to miss.
I’m gonna try to get around in front of them for a picture.
But the elephants don’t seem so keen on the idea.
Those flared ears are an unmistakable sign of aggression.
What worries me about rhinos is that they don’t give a warning like that.
One minute they’re motionless and the next, they’re charging straight at you.
Austin: “Well looking for big game from the inside
of a car is the safest way to do it, and it’s for tourists.
But for me, I have to get out, I have to get low, I have to get really close because I
need specific pictures.
So I’m gonna do this on foot.
Don’t try this at home.”
I’ve spotted a dry riverbed.
When you’re looking for animals that are hard to find, you need a place where they
can’t avoid leaving tracks.
Austin: ”Just get a look at this.
Rhino prints.
And look at this here: a perfect print in the sand.
Look at that.
You can always identify them; they look like a three-leaf clover.
Look at that.
And you see how enormous this is.
One, two, three, four, five times the size of my hand.
Isn’t that incredible?
And it seems to have walked right across here, straight across through the riverbed.
And I suspect this might not even be an adult.
You know, I mean this is an animal that gets up to two tonnes or more.
And considering how big these animals get, it makes you wonder if I’m doing the right
thing actually walking after them in the bush.
But that’s exactly what I’ve gotta do and I wanna get really close for some really
good photographs.”
The black rhino is the most aggressive of the two species, while the white rhino is
by far the biggest.
But both of them have a nasty habit of suddenly materializing out of the undergrowth.
Austin: ”Oh, you hear that?
Definitely something here.
I can hear it, but I can’t quite see anything.
I’m seeing my first rhino.
But incredibly, it’s a female with a baby.
It’s an enormous animal with a tiny little baby.
And because she’s got that baby, she’s gonna be skittish and nervous.
I’ve gotta be real careful.
I’ve gotta get a better look.
That baby’s so small, I recon it’s only a couple of weeks old.
That’s gonna make the mother even more protective.
She’s enormous; she’s got a massive horn.
If I could get a picture of that baby, that would be fantastic.”
No one knows quite how good a rhino’s eyesight really is.
But they definitely have excellent hearing and a powerful sense of smell.
Luckily, I’m down wind.
But I still need to try and get my camera out without making a sound.
Austin: ”She’s starting to huff and puff a little
bit.
I think she’s a little bit restless.
But I’m so excited; this is the youngest baby I’ve ever seen in my life.
And she’s keeping it well hidden.
See how the baby’s constantly hidden behind her body?
I’ll at least get a picture of them.”
Austin: “She’s still keeping the calf well hidden.
He’s right there, just behind her front leg.
He’s moving.
There’s movement on the right; there’s another animal here.
There’s a third rhino.
They’re so incredibly camouflaged.
In spite of their size, they just materialize out of the bush.
It’s just incredible.
They’re a little bit nervous now with this other one close by.
He’s coming closer all the time.
I mean he’s probably just a couple years old, but he’s pretty big, I’ll tell you.”
This newcomer is a juvenile.
It might be the mother’s previous offspring.
When rhinos have a new baby, the bond between the mother and the older calf often breaks
down.
The calf will try to stay part of the family, but the mother keeps chasing him away.
Austin: “Look at that.
What a bit of luck.
The tiny one’s right in front, looking at me.”
The mother can only hide the baby from one of us, and she’s decided the calf poses
the bigger threat.
This could turn nasty.
Austin: “That’s the shots I wanted.
And this one’s coming closer, so I’m gonna start backing out.”
If this kicks off, then I don’t want to be anywhere near.
Austin: “How is that for a first encounter?
A mother with two calves.
And the one is so young – two or three weeks, no more than that.
I didn’t want to go too close; she’s very nervous and on open ground.
If I get another chance, I’m gonna try and get even closer.”
The question is, if it can get that edgy with white rhinos, how on Earth am I gonna get
my black rhino shots?
There’s only one way to find out.
Get face to face with one.
First thing tomorrow, I’ll start planning how to do just that.
Austin: “Hey!
Go on!
It’s fervid monkeys.
Come on, go on.
They’re around you all the time.
They’re watching; they’re looking for food.
And if there’s anything, if you leave anything at all, they’ll grab it and run off with
it.
Go on, keep going.”
Despite the interruptions, I’ve come up with a plan.
Rather than relying on luck to spot one of these secretive creatures, I’m going to
try and pinpoint the sort of place black rhinos love to frequent.
And I’ve worked out a good way to do it.
Slaughtered for their meat, butchered for their horns and shot for trophies, rhinos
have been taken to the very brink of extinction right across Africa.
These anti poaching towers offer me the perfect lookout across prime rhino country.
Austin: “I spotted this tower and I thought it’s
worth climbing up.
I mean I’m looking for rhino and especially black rhino, if I’m lucky, will be found
in dense bush like this.
And I can’t see two feet in front of me.
This tower gives me a view of everywhere.”
What I’m looking for is thick patches of thorny scrub.
I’ll never see a rhino from up here.
But if I can pinpoint the right sort of habitat, then that’s where one might be.
Austin: “I mean Swaziland, years ago, had no rhino
at all; they were completely hunted out.
But now, thanks to parks like this, they’re making a comeback.
But finding black rhino is the hard part.”
Still, I have spotted one sight that looks like it might be promising.
It’s too far to go on foot, but it’s going to be a tough drive.
Austin: “The roads are really getting bad.
There’s been some rain, so there’s a lot of mud and there’s a lot of deep ruts.
Very difficult to get the vehicle through.
And more water ahead.
And the road’s almost disappearing here and it’s going into the riverbed.
See how it goes.
The sand is deep, it’s wet.
And there’s rocks.
Hold tight!
Ah!
Ah!
Holy mackerel.”
It’s been worth the trouble.
This is perfect black rhino habitat.
Austin: “They like the thick bush.
They’re a completely different kind of animal, and they’re known to be pretty aggressive
as well.
They’ll get out of the way as fast as they can, and if I get really close to one, I’m
gonna have to really be careful.
So one way or the other, whatever happens, I’ll get as close as I can to a rhino and
see if I can get a few good pictures.”
Black rhinos like to bury themselves in the deepest, densest areas.
So this is as far as I go by car.
They don’t just use these thorny trees for protection, they are also their very favourite
thing to eat.
Austin: “Just look at this.
This is a young tambourgi tree that’s been pushed over, and it’s been pushed over by
a black rhino.
This is typical black rhino behaviour.
He puts his legs right over the tree and just walks forward, pushes it down the ground.
‘Cause he wants to get to the soft-sucking twigs and leaves right at the top.
And you can see here, this is old, it’s been done a while ago.
But their teeth are so powerful, it’s chopped them clean off.
Right off like that, no problem at all.
And, in fact, the tree, the bark and the leaves are actually poisonous.
But it doesn’t worry a black rhino.”
Those bite marks may be old, but I’m definitely in the right sort of area.
Austin: “There’s quite a few prints running along
here.
Most of them are scuffed, but this one is almost perfect.
And it’s definitely a black rhino.
Their print is smaller than what a white rhino’s would be and it’s very rounded.
It looks like the hind leg stepping onto the print of the front leg.
And it’s definitely going in that direction.”
Austin: “I can hear something.
It sounds like something big moving, but I can’t see it.
I mean, I’m right in rhino territory; it could well be a rhino.
Oh, I can see him.
I can see him.
It’s a rhino.
I can just see the horn sticking up.
Massive black body behind, I don’t see, oh, I can see the mouth.
Yeah he’s feeding, he’s feeding high up.
It’s a black rhino.
It’s got that prehensile lip feeding on bark high up in the trees, not like the others,
grazing down.
I might get some shots.
It’s said that you should always keep a barrier between yourself and a rhino.
But I’m not sure these thorn bushes would even slow him down.
But before I can get a clear shot, he bolts.
These are very skittish animals and he’s far too fast to follow.
Besides, the bush is tangled and it’s getting much too late in the day to be out here alone
in the open.
I need to get back to my camp.
But it’s not just the rhino’s nervous disposition that worries me.
Austin: “The thing that gets me about rhinos is
the sheer size and power of the animals.
I mean, look at this.
This is a portion of a rhino’s skull.
I mean, this is without the bottom jaw and this is broken in half, so I’m only actually
looking at a quarter of the rhino’s size.
And just look at the size of those teeth.
And just imagine this with two gigantic horns on here.
And follow that up with about two tonnes of body, maybe coming straight at you, at twenty
miles per hour.
And all of it driven by just this, that cavity there – the brain cavity.
No bigger than my fist.
So it’s no wonder when you speak to people and you ask for advice about being in the
close proximity of rhinos, they say the same thing every time: ‘get the heck out the
way.’”
Unfortunately, to get the photos I’ve been asked for, I’m going to have to exactly
the opposite.
My first encounter with a black rhino was disappointing, but it could have been deadly.
These guys are aggressive and they’ve got the weaponry to make it count.
Powerful horns that grow eight centimetres a year.
Austin: “Just look at that.
That’s roughly the size of a black rhino horn; it’s enormous.
And you know, the white rhino horns can get even bigger than that.
Imagine two tonnes of animal behind this.
And that’s what I’m trying to get close to.
Certainly wouldn’t like to get in the way of this.
But I have got an idea.
The whole idea is to get as close to these rhinos as possible without getting killed.
I’ve got this monopod, attach it to my camera, turn the camera on and I’ve got this control;
this is an infrared control.
Yeah, it’s working.
Just imagine that’s a rhino coming straight at me.
But I’m not on the ground; I’m up in a tree with my extended monopod, upside down.
So I can hang suspended down with the infrared, get a shot of him.
Click.
Just like that.
And I’m safe up the tree.
Camera automatically turns the picture around and you’ve got a perfect rhino horn.”
So, armed with my monopod and a new plan, I’m ready for another go.
I’m heading back to the site of yesterday’s encounter because black rhino males are territorial.
He could easily still be around.
But he’s not the only dangerous animal lurking amongst the thorns.
Austin: “It’s a twig snake.
It’s a fast-moving snake and he’s perfectly designed to disappear in a bush.
Look at that.
He keeps dead still.
He knows his body’s perfectly camouflaged to look like a twig.
That’s where he gets his name – twig snake.
What they do is they lie dead still on a branch like this and they flicker their tongues and
they, they attract the attention of sometimes lizards, sometimes birds.
Then he’ll strike and grab it.
But right now, he’s using it as camouflage to get away from me.
He should be running for it; any other snake would be running for it.
But he’s not; he’s hoping that I don’t see him because he’s so perfectly camouflaged.
Watch him move.
Oh, he’s puffing up.
He’s puffing up.
He’s letting me know he’s not happy.
Look at that.
See that?
If these snakes get excited, if they get a bit upset and they have to defend themselves,
they puff up their necks and they strike out.”
Austin: “Oh, watch him go.
Woops.
Coming towards me.
And he can move amongst these thorns with no effort at all.
Now I can’t get to him.
I’d love to get a hold of him so I could just have a good look at him.
I wanna get him down a little bit.
Don’t get bitten.
You don’t get bitten by this snake.
There’s no serum for the bite of this snake.
There’s no serum and the venom is highly toxic.
Take a couple of days to actually kill you.
You don’t die very quickly.
It’s not a pretty way to go.
I wanna get a hold of, oh!
That’s close.
That’s much too close.
He’s so busy concentrating on, on me now that I can’t get close to his tail.
I want to get his tail because if I could pull his tail out, I could work with him a
bit.
I can’t get close to him.
Here he comes, here he comes, here he comes.
Watch him go, watch how quickly he moves.
Aren’t they fantastic?
They’re marvelous to watch.
It’s fantastic to watch how he moves.
Come on, I want you down, I want to talk to you.
I wanna have a good look at him.
Be careful not to get bitten.
I’m gonna try and get him off here.
I want to bring him close.
Come on now little boy.
This is about as big as they get, too.
They can get a little bit bigger but, woah, there we go.
I’ve got him.
At last, I’ve got him.
There we go.
Look at that.
Isn’t he gorgeous?
They are beautiful snakes.
They are beautiful snakes.”
Austin: “I’ve got him by the tail, so he’s pulling
through the tongs there and he can’t actually get away.
So he’s just threatening me.
Oh!
Be careful.
Don’t get bitten by, by a snake like this.
I must be careful.
Look at the colours.
Now when he expands his throat, you can see all the greys and the blues and the greens.
Look at that.
Isn’t that gorgeous?
He’s absolutely beautiful.
What a beautiful snake.
I mean, I can’t get to my camera because I’m gonna let him go and he’s gonna be
gone like a shot.
I’m just gonna release him again.
Beautiful encounter.
Beautiful coming into contact with one of these.
I actually haven’t seen one for years.
There we go.
Look at that.
Look at that.
He’s gorgeous.
Okay.
Put him off, off you go again.
You wanna go here?
Get back up into the tree.
There we go.
Go on, I’m finished with you now.
You can go.
He’s entangled around my, my tongs.
The tail is so prehensile.
There we go.
He can suspend himself anywhere.
And off he goes.
Off you go.
Look at that.
Like grease lightning.
As smooth as anything.
Fantastic.”
Unlike the twig snakes, who will happily stay around a small group of trees, black rhinos
have to patrol vast areas to find enough food to fill their massive bulk.
They eat at least forty kilograms of tiny leaves each day.
Which means if there are any rhinos here, I should be able to see the results of all
that eating.
Austin: “Just look at this.
This is what I’ve been hoping to find.
This is black rhino dung, no question about it.
If you scratch around in it, you find twigs, all those little bits of chewed off twigs.
Definitely a black rhino.
The way this dung’s been scattered over here, it looks like there’s a territorial
male.
He scraped his legs there.
He’s been digging around with his back legs inside the dung, getting the scent on his
feet before he goes off and marks his territory as far as he goes.
I’m right in the middle of black rhino territory.”
These deposits signal the boundary of the male’s terrain.
And they’re a warning sign.
Territorial males are known to attack anything that intrudes on their turf.
Austin: “There’s definitely something moving up
ahead.
Definitely.
I can definitely see him quite clearly.
Black rhino right here.”
Time for my monopod plan.
Austin: “This might be my chance.”
There is one sturdy looking tree, but it’s a bit further than I’d like.
Austin: “If I can get to the tree, I may just be
able to get my shot, my close-up black rhino shot.”
Once I’m safely out of reach, I’ll try and attract the rhino’s attention.
Austin: “I’ve gotta be very careful.
I don’t want him to get excited and see me before I get to the tree.
That would be a problem.”
But before I can put my plan into action, he’s gone.
Austin: “What do you think of that?
Black rhino, typical attitude.
The second it spotted me, it started coming.
When I was getting too nervous and I thought it’s coming too quick, I’m up the tree.
I’ve got all these plans, I’m gonna put on another lens, I’m gonna put the bar down
and I’m gonna take photos.
I’ve got it all ready.
No time for anything.
He’s right up there.
As soon as I, the first time I took a picture, the first picture, he was onto me, spotted
me straight away and came straight for the tree.
Eh, I tell you, he’s got a horn like that!
Nerve-racking stuff.”
I’m not pushing it any further.
Next time, I might not be so lucky.
Not many people have been charged by a black rhino and lived to tell the tale.
I decide it’s better to concentrate on white rhinos.
Better for my health, anyway.
But that plan of finding a good location first and the animal second has given me another
idea.
There are places where, if I’m lucky, I might find white rhinos gathering together.
Even in winter, rhinos have a problem keeping cool.
So I’ve come to where my map says water can be found.
Rhinos need a lot of water.
They drink up to eighty litres a day, and they wallow just as often as they can.
Austin: “I was just taking some pictures of the
hippos and I noticed this.
It’s the most fantastic example of a rhino rubbing post.
This was just a tree broken off.
Imagine the sharp edges, pointy bits.
Rhino comes along, starts rubbing himself against it.
This happens day after day, year after year, until this time it’s completely polished
smooth, as if it’s been polished with an electric sander.
Right at this moment, it makes a perfect resting place for my camera to get a few more shots
of these hippos.”
The temperature’s soaring.
The hippos have got the right idea.
When it’s hot like this, the rhinos seem to vanish.
They’re resting up somewhere shaded and quiet.
I decide to do the same.
Austin: “Well, I have come to this area in the winter
months and it’s actually cold at night; you can feel the cold.
But even so, this is a semi-tropical area and in the middle of the day, like about now,
it gets really hot.
It’s still very hot.
And everything settles down.
All the animals look for shade, hide away.
I’m doing the same.
Getting a chance to eat something while everything is as hot as it is.
And what I’ll do is wait an hour or two and then it’ll be time to move again.
And that’s the same thing the animals will do.
They’ll be moving as well, going into the evening cool again.
That’s probably when I’ll get a chance to see something.”
So as the temperature starts to drop, I get moving again.
Scouting around the water hole, I find just what I’m looking for.
Austin: “Look at all of this.
This is a rhino wallow.
And I mean it’s been recently used.
There’s been so much activity here.
There’s footprints everywhere.
Probably these guys were here just this morning.
Perfect place for rhinos to collect mud.
And here’s a rubbing post, a fresh rubbing post; it hasn’t been worn down yet.
Those sharp edges, after a little while, this is gonna change.
This is all gonna become round, that’s for sure.
Ah, look at this man.
Look at all the activity here.
Footprints everywhere.
And here’s a very unusual rubbing post.
Look at this.
This tree is not broken off.
It’s not broken off, but it’s bent in the perfect shape.
I mean, imagine a rhino coming here, he could fit his whole tummy over here, he could rub
his hind legs behind this and get his front arms over this.
Because although rhinos have got thick skin, it’s actually quite sensitive.
And ticks and, and other parasites are attached to it, looking for blood.
And he coats himself with a, with a clay, with a mud, and then he comes and he rubs
it all off.
And if you break this off, sometimes you actually find ticks and other parasites right in the
mud, which he’s now discarded.
This is all very fresh.
There’s definitely rhinos very close by.”
Austin: “Just look at this.
I’ve just come out that bush and I walk straight into a group of rhinos here and what
looks like a watering hole.
They obviously know I’m here but they’re not showing any signs yet.
I’m gonna get as close as I can and have a look.
Here I go.
That guy’s getting excited.
If I could just get over there.
I’m gonna duck down so they don’t see me.
This might be my chance to get a couple of shots.
I just don’t want to get them excited.
I’ve got nowhere to go.
Some of them have actually moved away as I’ve come here.
I can hear some splashing.
It sounds like one is actually wallowing in the mud.
I’d like to get a look at that.
It would make some great photography.”
Approaching quietly, from downwind, I do my best to keep some vegetation between me and
the rhinos.
The wallow stretches way back and it’s absolutely packed with white rhinos of all shapes and
sizes.
It’s like a prehistoric beauty parlour.
Work the mud on, then scrape it off again.
And they’re lining up to take it in turn.
The question is, how close can I get?
Austin: “There’s a mother and calf and they’re
in the open.
I’d like to try and get a bit closer.
But I don’t want to spook them.”
They’ve nervous, but I’ve got to push a little to get my shot.
The greatest danger is rattling the calf.
The calf gets a fright and the mother gets excited.
I just need to maneuver myself round in front.
A plan that didn’t work out so well with the elephants.
I’m now so close, I can see each of the blood-sucking flies, which are attacking the
rhino’s Hyde.
I can’t afford a wrong move.
The situation can change in an instant.
Austin: “This rhino keeps coming closer.
It keeps coming closer.”
I need to be alert for the slightest sign of aggression.
A snort, cocked ears or even a raised tail.
Austin: “Have to move back, have to move back!
Back!”
I found a secret gathering of white rhinos, some of the most powerful animals on the planet.
I can see at least a dozen of them, ranging from a couple of years old to full-grown adults.
This is my best chance yet to low angle close-ups of rhinos in action.
Austin: “Watch him rubbing his neck.
That’s a very convenient log there.
Watch him put his foot over.
Anything that’s available becomes a rubbing post.
That’s a fallen log and it’s working for all different parts.
That log is gonna become super smooth after a couple of years of this, can you believe
it?
Watch him hook the back legs over.
All the ticks that he might have trapped in that mud, any body parasites will get pulled
off, he will rub them off and, of course, satisfies the itch at the same time.
I just cannot believe I am this close to actually see him doing it.”
Portraits are one thing, but a chance to photograph real behaviour is quite another, especially
in an animal as impressive as this.
Austin: “There’s so many rhinos here right now.
A lot of huffing and puffing all around me.
I’m very nervous here.
There’s a big one coming here.
He’s enormous and his horn is tremendous.
Never seen anything this big before.
Isn’t that incredible?
He’s absolutely covered in mud.
And he’s enjoying the scratch so much.
He’s ignoring me completely, thank goodness.
I dare not move anywhere.
I’ve got rhinos all around.
And while they’re busy scratching and enjoying themselves, I feel quite safe.
I think that is just pleasure.
That’s what that grunting’s all about.
That’s pure pleasure.
I wanna see if I can go a little bit closer and get some real tight shots.
I’m going up to this log.”
For the first time, there’s nothing between me and this armoured giant.
I’m out in the open.
Austin: “Wow.
That’s really getting closer than comfort.”
He’s still only a matter of metres from me.
If he decides to charge, he’ll be on me before I even had time to stand up.
Austin: “That was a bit nerve-racking.
But it looks like he’s moving away.
He’s paying attention to another, another potential scratch post.
I think I’ve pushed it as far as I’m going to today.
My heart’s in my mouth.
It’s been a fantastic experience, and I’ve got the pictures to prove it.”
Swaziland delivered everything I’d hoped and more.
Mkhaya’s got to be the best place in the world to see these magnificent beasts.
Austin: “This assignment was great and I got my
pictures.
Saw a baby rhino, only a few weeks old.
Got chased up a tree by a black rhino and got away with my life, found myself in the
middle of a group of grooming rhinos.
This sort of adventure you can only experience in Africa.”
