Rocky the rhino was very excited to fly 5,000 miles from London to Hanoi, Vietnam to raise awareness about the illegal wildlife trade of rhino horn. The last rhino in the country was illegally poached and Javan rhinos were declared extinct in Vietnam in 2010. The illegal poaching of rhinos for their horn is the biggest threat to their survival and at the current rate of poaching rhinos face extinction in the wild in just 11 years.
Rocky the rhino soon took to the streets of the Old Quarter in Hanoi to see the street markets and food stalls.
Rocky’s friend Ralph went along to visit the TRAFFIC team to learn more about the Chi campaign, which seeks to change the behaviour of key consumer groups of rhino horn and use positive messages targeting the motivations of why people use rhino horn.
Rocky the rhino then took the streets of Hanoi to see the sights, such as the Haon Kiem lake, Hanoi Flag Tower and the Temple of Literature (pictured above) which is a Temple of Confucius.
Rocky the rhino also made some friends as he explored the city and was happy to stop for a snap or two along the way.
Rocky and Josephine, Save the Rhino’s Partnership Development Manager met with the Education for Nature Vietnam team. Education for Nature Vietnam is tackling the demand for rhino horn through behaviour change campaigns, awareness raising events, wildlife crime unit tackling and working with local law enforcement agencies and members of the government.
Rocky the rhino completes the Song Hong, Hanoi
This Sunday Rocky the rhino raced his way through the Song Hong run hosted by Education for Nature Vietnam and the Red River Runners! It was a fantastic day in which Vietnamese and international runners came together to run for rhinos and raise the profile of the importance of reducing the demand for rhino horn in Vietnam. Members of the American, British, Dutch and French Embassies also joined the run and showed their support for rhinos.
Even the runners clothes helped raise awareness of the cause.
Good Post.