Rhino Peak Challenge puts wildlife conservation first

THIS year’s Rhino Peak Challenge is set to take place on September 17, with 36 ambassadors summiting the iconic ‘Rhino Peak’ for endangered species conservation.

The challenge is a unique trail event, focusing not on victory or glory but on raising funds for vital species conservation efforts in South Africa.

Participants have had to submit an application to become an ambassador and are challenged to climb the 21km peak in the Southern Drakensberg Mountains and raise a minimum of R20 000 in the name of conservation.

Since its inception in 2016, the challenge has raised over R3.5m for grassroot conservation organisations, including Wildlife ACT, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. These organisations focus on on-the-ground work for endangered species, making tangible and meaningful change.

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“The Rhino Peak Challenge provides critical funding to support on-the-ground, critical conservation work with endangered species in South Africa,” said Wildlife ACT co-founder Chris Kelly. “Thank you to this year’s ambassadors for tackling this challenge head-on and all those supporting their brilliant efforts.”

The challenge has no time limit, and ambassadors may walk or run it. Over the years, a number of South Africa’s finest trail runners have taken on the challenge. The real focus of the challenge is the fundraising, with ambassadors spending time and energy on it months in advance.

Each ambassador has committed to raise funds for their team, which will be used to support targeted rhino, vulture and crane conservation initiatives.

These include Project Vulture, Wildlife ACT’s Rhino Conservation Programme, EWT’s African Crane Conservation Project, and Wildlife ACT’s Vulture Conservation Project. Funds raised will assist with de-hornings, endangered species monitoring, tagging and community programmes.

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“The Rhino Peak Challenge is an exciting way to give back to a worthy cause, while highlighting the threats our planet’s biodiversity is facing,” said business development officer at The Endangered Wildlife Trust, Tammy Baker. “We’re excited to hit the ground running and use funds raised by our ambassadors for endangered species conservation.”

If you would like to support the event or raise funds for a particular ambassador, visit rhinopeakchallenge.co.za.

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