17/09/2026
I would like to delve into a subject that has left most and yes I am saying most because it's not all South Africans concerned, heartbroken, terrified, angry and absolutely disgusted by the recent spate of murders of innocent women in Kempton Park area in Johannesburg South Africa.
Now you may ask, why am I, a Nature Guide and Wildlife Photographer interested in delving into this topic? Here's my reason...
I am a grandson to my grandmother, a son to my mother, a nephew to my aunts, a brother to my sisters and an uncle to my niece.
I am a human, and as a human who guides fellow humans into the world of the animal kingdom, I find it absolutely disgusting when I hear people comparing the perpetrators of these heinous crimes against these 8 women (as well as innocent women, children and men anywhere in the world) to animals.. allow me to tell you why..
I will use the example of our beloved, highly endangered and also constantly threatened Rhino amongst other animals to make my point. And I urge my fellow guides and those educated in the field to correct me or add where I've come short.
Rhino Bulls have territories and home ranges. They constantly mark them and defend them against other dominant rhino bulls, who also have their own territories and home ranges, while tolerating subordinate bulls in their territories and home ranges.
Rhino cows traverse through multiple bull territories freely. The cows are mostly accompanied by their calves. The Rhino cow does not fear being murdered by a Rhino bull, she mates when she is ready, if a bull approaches her IN HIS TERRITORY OR HOME RANGE and she is not comfortable with him, her "No" is respected and the bull backs away giving her and her calf all the space she needs.
Rhino bulls don't murder cows because she said no. Rhino bulls dont r**e cows because "she belongs to him since she's in his territory"
Yes you may say that my example is not relevant because rhinos unlike humans only mate to reproduce and not for pleasure. But we do have examples of animals that do have s*x for pleasure like the Bottlenose dolphins and Chimpanzees, none of which do so non-consensually.. that disgusting behavior belongs solely to humans. *R**e is about control, not pleasure*
We now have a society telling women to be safe, to not do this or that, to not go here or there, women should not do such for their own safety while nothing is being said to the men and boys about what they should and should not be doing for the safety of their mothers, sisters, nieces, daughters, wives and all women... the animal kindom again has an example for us humans to take from!!
The mighty giants on the Pilanesberg , the elephant is a perfect example. When elephants were introduced to the Pilanesberg, the group that was introduced was young adolescent bulls who were unruly and destructive. They damaged fences, attacked cars and were also responsible for killing rhino in the park. The reason being that these young bulls were coming into musth early and they had no idea about how to deal with it. The solution was the introduction of older, more mature, bigger bulls to the park. These big bulls literally smacked the younger bulls out of musth and brought about some order to the behaviors of these younger bulls.
There is a strong lesson for us as men to take from this example. Us as fathers, brothers, uncles and friends need to start standing up and taking the lead by setting the correct examples for our younger brothers, sons, nephews and friends. It was not the fault of the dead rhino that the young elephant bull killed, it was the lack of adult presence and mature leadership that resulted in that young bulls behavior.
We as men now need to take responsibility for our own actions and hold our fellow brothers responsible for their actions. Our women should never have to live in fear of us. They should be allowed to roam freely as the Rhino cows do and know that their "No" is respected by us bulls. They should have complete agency to live and be without any fear while knowing that us as men are there as their equal and their protectors, not their oppressors and exterminator!!
We men can do better and we must do better... perhaps us men do need to take a lesson from animals and start behaving like them!!!!
