CeCe Sieffert

Director, International Rhino Foundation

“The rhino has walked the Earth for more than 50 million years. There are five species of rhinos across the world: the White and Black rhinos in Africa, the Greater One Horned rhinos in India and Nepal, and the Sumatran and Javan rhinos, which now only exist in Indonesia. Each species has their own social structure and each rhino has their own personality. Those personalities really show up in photographs, and rhino babies are too cute.

The first time you look closely into a rhino’s eyes you instantly fall in love, yet become overwhelmed. In those eyes is a story millions of years old but one that holds a very uncertain future. When you’re close enough to a rhino to be able to look into its eye, you’re aware of how intimidating they are physically, but at the same time you realize just how vulnerable they are.

Through the eyes, you see a rhino’s soul and appreciate that there is an immense, unspoken trust to allow you to be that close. In that moment, that trust is the most precious thing in the world and you vow to never betray it. In that moment, you are amazed that you exist on Earth in the same era as this magnificent creature. You are humbled and you realize how lucky you are that a rhino knows you exist.”

Photo by International Rhino Foundation