Just yards from a white rhino, Woempe Fouchee raises a rifle to his shoulder. But Fouchee has no bullet in his gun. He is on a ‘green hunt’, and is paying $5000 to accompany government rangers on a research trip. If anything, this only adds to the adrenaline. “Anything can happen. If the rhino charges – what are you going to do with a dart gun?’” he whispers, fraught with nerves and excitement. Valued in the Orient for the aphrodisiac quality of their horns – poachers can get up to $100 000 per horn - there are only around 12 000 white rhinos left. The ‘green hunts’ help hugely under-funded agencies to finance research vital to help the rare species recover. And the hunters love it too. “Its better than killing – I’ll never shoot anything again!” says Fouchee. “Some people frown upon it, but if you handle it correctly it becomes a win-win situation,” adds Ranger Annalieze. “The animal lives in the end.” In a country where hunting and shooting have long been key parts of sporting culture, it now seems everyone can benefit.

Produced by ABC Australia