14-year-old SA boy advocates for Rhino Conservation

A 14-year-old Cape Town boy has been fighting for rhino conservation in South Africa and has since raised nearly R400 000.

Hunter Miller, a 14-year-old from Somerset West in Cape Town, started his rhino conservation journey at the age of just eight, and has since raised close to R400 000 for the protection of rhinos threatened by poachers.

Rhino Conservation efforts since 2015

According to Hunter’s BackaBuddy page, ‘Raise a Baby Rhino with Hunter’, the little boy began raising funds for an orphaned White rhino called Osita, who was found at Aquila Private Game Reserve in the Western Cape on New Year’s Eve in 2015. 

“I learnt so much from that one special rhino and how every rhino’s life is important. After years of hard work, Osita was successfully released back into the wild and I decided that I needed to help as many orphaned and injured rhinos around South Africa to have the same second chance at life.” Mitchell says on his page.

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According to Tourism Update, R400 000 funds that were raised, was done so through awareness talks at schools, civvies days, talks at corporate events and other ventures. Hunter also launched a rhino sock collection in 2019, which was supported by Pick n Pay clothing, and his rhino masks are even sold at shops in the Kruger National Park.

Hunter plans to be a veterinarian one day and hopes to raise even greater awareness about rhino conservation, reports News24.

“I want to keep educating future generations about their responsibilities to our rhino, our wildlife and our planet,” he explains. “We need to protect these gentle giants.”

Hunter’s BackaBuddy page can be found here.

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