Our 2024 Big Give Christmas Appeal raised £84,332 to support Save the Rhino Trust’s (SRT) Mounted Patrol Unit (MPU) in Namibia’s Kunene Region. We are delighted to share the results.
Why the Mounted Patrol Unit matters
Namibia is home to the largest black rhino population in the world, with the population having recovered from severe poaching losses in the 1980s to reach more than 2,000 animals today. But these rhinos continue to face very real risks, and keeping track of every individual animal is essential to their survival.
The Kunene Region presents a particular challenge. It is a vast, rugged landscape, much of which is simply unreachable by vehicle. That is where the Mounted Patrol Unit comes in. Established in 2021, the four-person team use donkeys to access terrain that no other form of transport can reach, allowing them to seek out rhinos in the most remote corners of their range, log sightings, monitor individual animals, and maintain a visible presence across the landscape.
The team is recruited directly from the communities that live alongside these rhinos, providing meaningful local employment whilst enabling conservation work that would otherwise be impossible.
What you made possible in 2025
Thanks to those who supported our 2024 Big Give Christmas Appeal, as well as the Anna Merz Rhino Trust, Save the Rhino Trust was able to:
Keep the team in the field
Ranger salaries, sighting bonuses, rations, patrol and riding equipment were all covered for the full calendar year. The team carried out regular patrols throughout 2025, logging 118 confirmed rhino sightings by the team leader alone, spending 224 days in the field across 578 combined ranger field days, and covering 624 kilometres on donkeyback.
Upgrade the camp at Axab
One of the most significant achievements of the year was the completion of new accommodation at the MPU’s base. Four staff units, a kitchen, an ablution block with solar-heated water, a solar power system, and a satellite Wi-Fi connection were all installed. In a location with no mobile phone signal, Wi-Fi is not a luxury; it is essential for the team to stay connected and coordinate their work effectively.
The effect on team morale has been immediate and marked. Rangers who perform demanding, often isolating work in one of Africa’s harshest environments now have a comfortable, safe place to rest, and the means to stay connected.
Care for the donkeys
The donkeys are at the heart of everything the MPU does, and funds raised ensured they were well looked after throughout the year. Thanks to unusually good rains across the Kunene in 2025, supplemental feed was not needed. The donkeys continued to prove their worth as the ideal partners for this terrain, dependable and well-suited to conditions that would defeat almost any alternative.
The bigger picture
2025 brought both reasons for hope and sobering reminders of the scale of the challenge. After nearly 12 years of below-average rainfall, the Kunene finally received the rains it needed. Calf survival rates improved noticeably, and the overall black rhino population in the region remained stable compared to 2024.
At the same time, two rhinos were lost to poaching in the Kunene during the year, a painful reminder of why consistent, committed monitoring matters so much.
Looking ahead
Plans for the coming year include the purchase and training of new donkeys to expand the team’s reach. The foundations built at Axab, in terms of both the physical camp and the motivated, well-supported team based there, will make that work possible.
On behalf of everyone at Save the Rhino International and Save the Rhino Trust, thank you to all who have supported this vital work.