Champions of the Wild: Black and White Rhinos

This title is an acquisition.

The black and white rhinoceros are pre-historic, majestic, powerful--and desperately endangered. The black rhinos of Kenya owe their continued existence to one man: Courtland Parfet. Once a rhino killer, the former mining tycoon bought the sprawling Solio Ranch in 1966 and turned it into a wildlife sanctuary. Today it is home to the world's densest black rhino population. To deter poachers, Parfet built a fence 53 kilometres (33 miles) long, carrying 8,000 volts of electricity and patrolled by an armed security force. The black rhinoceros has long been coveted for its horns. The illegal rhino horn trade has flourished during the past 30 years--a period of unprecedented slaughter that saw the population of these stunning animals reduced to 300 by 1985. This episode of the Champions series takes us on what seems to be a trip back in time, to a breathtakingly beautiful spot where white and black rhinoceros live side by side with other wildlife, and with little to fear from humans.