The Poacher's Moon: The True Story of Higgins & Lady

by Richard Peirce

When wildlife conservationist Richard Peirce learnt about the targeting of three private game reserves in South Africa's Western Cape in 2011 and the butchery of some of their rhinos, he embarked on a crusade to raise public awareness about the horrors of rhino poaching.

This is the story of Higgins and Lady, two rhinos from the farm Fairy Glen that defied the odds by surviving a brutal attack. Peirce keeps the reader spellbound as he recounts the series of attacks and their aftermath in chilling detail: the unbearable savagery, suspect police work, shady characters, mysterious happenings and death threats.

Reading like a crime thriller, this account of dogged survival, compassion and triumph - along with desperate strategizing to outwit the poaching mafia - will have wide appeal. Color images throughout, taken as the drama unfolded, bring the subject even more vividly to life.

122 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2014

Reviews

[Tyera]

The topic is interesting and important, and the facts of the rhino story heartbreaking. But the book is not very well written, and Peirce uses exorbitant amounts of conjecture in order to add what he no doubt considers rich, graphic detail to scenes to which he has no witnesses. That irks me.

[Carol Kirk]

Absolutely amazing story of compassion and hope

[Shelley]

Heart wrenching book on the struggle of Rhino's in South Africa. Makes you endeared to the Rhinos struggle not to become extinct.