Draken renews its commitment to saving the rhino

Draken is excited to be partnering with Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF) with the release of the 2025 Kruger. 5% of profits from the sale of each Kruger watch will go to GKEPF to fund ground activities, such as monitoring and tagging of rhino, dehorning, snare removal operations and relocations, as well as air operations such as airplane reconnaissance. Funds may also go towards poaching detection technology like camera traps and drones used in the Greater Kruger region as part of strategic anti-poaching interventions. 

The plight of rhino poaching

Southern Africa is home to the vast majority of the world’s remaining rhinos, with around 80% of the population in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. South Africa alone holds 70% of the global population, particularly in an area known as the Greater Kruger. 

Despite international conservation efforts and growing public awareness, rhino poaching remains a critical issue, driven by global demand for rhino horn, enabled by sophisticated criminal networks and conducted by poachers. In countries like China and Vietnam, it is believed that rhino horn has incredible medicinal properties, but the reality is that it is nothing more than keratin, the same material makeup as our fingernails.

Since the early 2010s, rhino poaching surged dramatically. In South Africa, the number of rhinos killed rose from just 13 in 2007 to over 1,200 in 2014. In 2024, 420 rhinos were poached in South Africa, 320 of those from state-owned properties (Source: International Rhino Foundation). While poaching numbers are declining, rhino breeding in the wild still has a long way to go to recover from the last 15 years of poaching. 

Who is GKEPF?

Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF) was established in direct response to the rhino poaching crisis to strategically support its member reserves in combating wildlife crime throughout the Greater Kruger region. To stem the tide, there is crucial work to be done to both prevent poaching and to protect the welfare of vulnerable and threatened wildlife. GKEPF provides a platform for collaboration and cooperation on strategic interventions to address poaching and its root causes, bringing together the efforts of various stakeholders united by a shared common interest. 

While poaching efforts are intensifying, counter-poaching actions are becoming increasingly more effective and sophisticated. In just a few years, GKEPF’s involvement in anti-poaching interventions has resulted in the prevention of many poaching attempts. GKEPF’s holistic approach to mitigate poaching includes successfully rolling-out the physical placement of numerous technologies, providing operational support, establishing reporting systems for strategic sharing of information, facilitating training, and building relationships with surrounding communities in the area through their members and partners.

Please follow GKEPF on Instagram and Facebook and please feel free to donate to the cause.