EPISODE · Mar 11, 2026 · 45 MIN
E63: Rhino in the Brush
from Wilderness Bonescapes Podcast · host Wilderness Bonescapes
At nine years old, most kids are collecting football cards or dreaming about what they want to be when they grow up. Kieran was studying a poster from the World Wide Fund for Nature — staring into the ancient, armored face of a black rhino and quietly deciding that his life would mean something. Fast forward a decade. Now he’s standing in the South African bush, nearly two miles from the nearest road, part of a foot patrol trained to protect one of the most endangered animals on Earth. No fences. No vehicles. Just thick brush, radio telemetry… and a 1,500-kilogram mother black rhino who suddenly realizes they’re there. What happens next unfolds in seconds. A charge. A scramble for trees. And one young conservationist who doesn’t make it out of the way in time. This isn’t a story about recklessness. It’s about purpose. About the razor-thin line between protection and peril. And about what drives someone to walk straight into danger for an animal that might attack first and ask questions never. In today’s episode, we travel to Northern Zululand in KwaZulu-Natal, where passion meets raw wilderness — and where one split-second decision will test everything Kieran believes about conservation, courage, and fear. Because sometimes, saving a species means standing your ground… even when the ground starts charging back..Wilderness Bonescapes Outdoor Saleshttps://wildernessbonescapes.com/outdoor-stuff-on-sale.Audiblehttps://www.amazon.com/hz/audible/arya/mlpencoding=UTF8&purchaseType=MTRIAL&linkCode=ll2&tag=wildernessbon-20&linkId=dbb68da43653929fb3e8e59c2c5c70fe&language=enUS&ref_=as_li_ss_tl.Amazon Music Unlimitedhttps://www.amazon.com/music/unlimited?&linkCode=ll2&tag=wildernessbon-20&linkId=dadc11e13b402d23e3446ad1517a5dd4&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl...Sources:1. https://www.sapeople.com/fab-south-african-stuff/guide-discharged-in-good-spirits-after-surviving-black-rhino-attack/2. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/brit-fighting-life-after-being-241450183. https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/9560290/kieran-munns-rhino-attack-conservation-animals-scotland/4. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-lad-describes-terrifying-moment-241480515. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-571809916. https://stoneageman.com/how-to-survive-a-rhino-attack/#:~:text=Stay%20fairly%20still.,turn%20faster%20than%20a%20rhino.7. https://rhinos.org/about-rhinos/rhino-species/black-rhino/8. Chat GPT was used to enhance this episode
What this episode covers
At nine years old, most kids are collecting football cards or dreaming about what they want to be when they grow up. Kieran was studying a poster from the World Wide Fund for Nature — staring into the ancient, armored face of a black rhino and quietly deciding that his life would mean something. Fast forward a decade. Now he’s standing in the South African bush, nearly two miles from the nearest road, part of a foot patrol trained to protect one of the most endangered animals on Earth. No fences. No vehicles. Just thick brush, radio telemetry… and a 1,500-kilogram mother black rhino who suddenly realizes they’re there. What happens next unfolds in seconds. A charge. A scramble for trees. And one young conservationist who doesn’t make it out of the way in time. This isn’t a story about recklessness. It’s about purpose. About the razor-thin line between protection and peril. And about what drives someone to walk straight into danger for an animal that might attack first and ask questions never. In today’s episode, we travel to Northern Zululand in KwaZulu-Natal, where passion meets raw wilderness — and where one split-second decision will test everything Kieran believes about conservation, courage, and fear. Because sometimes, saving a species means standing your ground… even when the ground starts charging back..Wilderness Bonescapes Outdoor Saleshttps://wildernessbonescapes.com/outdoor-stuff-on-sale.Audiblehttps://www.amazon.com/hz/audible/arya/mlpencoding=UTF8&purchaseType=MTRIAL&linkCode=ll2&tag=wildernessbon-20&linkId=dbb68da43653929fb3e8e59c2c5c70fe&language=enUS&ref_=as_li_ss_tl.Amazon Music Unlimitedhttps://www.amazon.com/music/unlimited?&linkCode=ll2&tag=wildernessbon-20&linkId=dadc11e13b402d23e3446ad1517a5dd4&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl...Sources:1. https://www.sapeople.com/fab-south-african-stuff/guide-discharged-in-good-spirits-after-surviving-black-rhino-attack/2. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/brit-fighting-life-after-being-241450183. https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/9560290/kieran-munns-rhino-attack-conservation-animals-scotland/4. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-lad-describes-terrifying-moment-241480515. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-571809916. https://stoneageman.com/how-to-survive-a-rhino-attack/#:~:text=Stay%20fairly%20still.,turn%20faster%20than%20a%20rhino.7. https://rhinos.org/about-rhinos/rhino-species/black-rhino/8. Chat GPT was used to enhance this episode
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E63: Rhino in the Brush
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