Student intern helps conserve rhino population

IU sophomore Steven Kiley dedicated his summer to rhinos.

He spent two months in South Africa and Botswana working to conserve rhino populations.

Through the Jenna Clifford Rhino Project Young Presidents’ Organization Internship Program, Kiley studied the current status of rhinos in Africa, worked on two game reserves to help their current working conditions and promoted awareness about the current plight of the rhinos.

The goal of the internship was to provide support for StopRhinoPoaching.com, an independent, non-governmental organization that aims to raise awareness of the issue, according to its website.

Kiley said the funds help purchase anti-poaching units the game reserves need, such as vehicles, helicopters, watch dogs and other equipment.

“You would not believe what goes into this when the rhinos get poached,” Kiley said.
All five interns, including Kiley, took a film training class in order to learn how to professionally record their experiences.

Kiley and his fellow interns decided to turn the videos they collected over the summer into a film.  They are in the final stages of creating a 15-minute documentary on the rhino poaching crisis, Kiley said.

In addition to the raw animal footage, the group will also include statistical graphs, trends and the projected future status of rhinos, Kiley said.

He said the group hopes to premiere the documentary at the Durban International Film Festival in Durban, South Africa, in addition to another film festival in Los Angeles.

“This is a wake-up call,” Kiley said. “I didn’t even realize rhinos were being poached. I want people to realize what’s going on, how it can be fixed and how serious the issue actually is.”

About 700 rhinos have already been butchered in South Africa, Dex Kotze, CEO of Jenna Clifford, said.

“If this carries on like it is, in 12 years rhinos will be extinct,” he said.

Kiley is also trying to promote the documentary at IU, possibly going to the IU Cinema or Union Board, he said.

Kiley said he wants to raise as much awareness as he can about the war on rhino poaching.

“People don’t realize a rhino horn is worth more than gold right now,” Kiley said. “There’s only about 20,000 rhinos left in the world. Two are poached every eight hours. I want all of this to be shown. I want people to walk away with the message and the intent to pass this on — to stop the poaching all together.”

Follow reporter Tori Lawhorn on Twitter @ToriLawhorn.