Don't book an African safari before viewing this film.
Produced for PBS' Independent Lens series, "Milking the Rhino" is a documentary that first aired in April, which reveals the conflicted toll ecotourism takes on Africa's conservation and indigenous communities.
Shot against a stunning backdrop of Kenya and Namibia, the film shows what is often just beyond the camera lens in most wildlife documentaries - the people that live, quite literally, among the animals. Raising cattle. Keeping watch for lions. Praying for rain. Occasionally laying out their wares for the intrigued tourists that visit community-run eco lodges like Kenya's Il Ngwesi Lodge.
It's these eco lodges, leasing land from the community, that provide funding to indigenous communities for schools, offices, goods and land. Yet, it is also the eco lodges that force communities to adapt to a new way of life, in favor of appealing to tourists. (Imagine men sweeping ATV tracks from the sand in preparation for a new tour. It happens.)
In the rest of the world, Africa's community-based conservation is praised as a win-win situation for communities and conservationists alike. In rural Africa, it's a complicated issue that divides many, each day changing the outlook and future for the country's wildlife.
Take a look at the clip below, check local listings, or order the DVD here ($29.95)
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