Dorsland comes to Windhoek
Dorsland is coming to Windhoek.
Not the real Dorsland, an iconic pregnant free roaming desert-adapted black rhino and her calf who were tragically killed by poachers in Kunene last year, but life-size sculptures, created by an anonymous Namibian artist from rocks sourced from the very landscape they once roamed.
And Namibians are being challenged to find her. The sculptures form the centrepiece of a new public awareness campaign, #FindingDorsland, launched on the afternoon of Thursday, 5 November 2026 by ultimate.earth in partnership with the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) and the Conservation Travel Foundation (CTF).
The campaign aims to introduce more Namibians to the extraordinary story of Namibia's free-roaming desert-adapted black rhino, the communities who live alongside and protect them, and the important role that wildlife and tourism play in creating sustainable rural livelihoods.
It will also give one lucky Namibian and five friends the opportunity to experience that story first-hand, with an all-inclusive two-night stay at the award-winning Onduli Enclave in Damaraland, including the opportunity to track free-roaming desert-adapted black rhino.
Remembering Dorsland
In October 2025, Dorsland, a pregnant, well-known, and iconic desert-adapted black rhino cow, was killed by poachers along with her calf in the Red Mountain Joint Management Area in Kunene which is jointly managed by the communal conservancies of Sorris Sorris, Doro !Nawas, and Uibasen Twyfelfontein.
Dorsland's death was devastating not only because Namibia lost a remarkable wild animal, but because it highlighted what is at stake in one of the country's most important community-based conservation landscapes. For more than three decades, communal conservancies in the Kunene Region have helped develop a model in which wildlife conservation, tourism, and rural livelihoods can work together. The desert-adapted black rhino is one of the great symbols of that success.
Unlike rhino living in many other parts of Africa, Namibia's desert-adapted black rhino roam freely across vast, unfenced landscapes. Their survival is closely connected to the communities and conservation structures that protect them, as well as to a tourism industry that brings visitors from around the world to experience this extraordinary environment.
Simson Uri-Khob, CEO of Save the Rhino Trust Namibia, said:
“Dorsland's story is a painful reminder of what is at stake when we lose a free-roaming desert-adapted black rhino. These animals are part of Namibia's natural heritage, but they also represent the success of communities who have chosen to live alongside wildlife and protect it. Dorsland was known, monitored, and valued, and her loss was felt far beyond the place where she was killed. We are proud to stand with ultimate.earth in keeping her story alive and reminding Namibians that these rhino belong to all of us.”
For ultimate.earth, SRT and the CTF, the campaign is about helping Namibians understand that value.
“Dorsland's story is much bigger than the story of one rhino,” says Tristan Cowley, Managing Director of ultimate.earth.
“She represents something that Namibia has built over generations — free-roaming wildlife, community conservation, rural livelihoods and a tourism economy that depends on the very things that make this country unique. Many Namibians know that rhinos are endangered. But fewer understand what a living rhino means to the communities who live alongside them, or the economic and tourism value that wildlife OUTSIDE NATIONAL PARKS creates for Namibia. We want to change that. We want Namibians to see these animals not only as something that needs to be protected, but as part of Namibia's natural heritage and as an important living economic asset for our country.”
From Damaraland to Windhoek
The sculpture of Dorsland and her calf has been commissioned from an anonymous Namibian artist and created using rocks from Damaraland. The choice of material is deliberate. Dorsland and her calf lived among those landscapes and the rocks that form their likeness come from the same environment in which they once walked freely. Now their story is being brought to Namibia's capital.
“Dorsland belonged to Kunene, but her story belongs to all Namibians,” says Cowley.
“Bringing her to Windhoek is a way of bringing that story to people who may never have had the opportunity to encounter a free-roaming desert-adapted black rhino in the wild.”
Find Dorsland
From Friday, 6th November 2026, Namibians are invited to find the sculpture somewhere in Windhoek and take part in the #FindingDorsland competition.
To enter, participants must:
- Find Dorsland and her calf in Windhoek.
- Take a selfie or video with the sculpture.
- Post the photograph or video in the comments of the competition post on ultimate.earth’s Facebook or Instagram pages and explain what Namibia's free-roaming black rhino mean to them and to Namibia.
A panel of judges will select the winning entry based on the photograph or video and the participant's response after the closing date on 18 November 2026, and the winner will be announced at the Namibia Travel Market hosted by Venture Media at Droombos on the evening of the 19 November 2026.
The winner and five friends will receive an all-inclusive two-night stay at Onduli Enclave (worth over N$ 165,000), including the opportunity to track Namibia's free-roaming desert-adapted black rhino in one of Namibia’s most important conservation landscapes, subject to the T&Cs.
The prize is redeemable between 1–13 December 2026 and 15 January–28 February 2027, subject to availability.
More than a competition
While the competition is designed to be fun, the campaign has a more serious purpose: Over the coming weeks, ultimate.earth and its conservation partners will share information about Namibia's desert-adapted black rhino, the history of community-based conservation in Kunene, and the role that wildlife tourism plays in supporting rural communities and conservation.
The campaign will also invite Namibians to consider a simple question:
What do Namibia's free roaming black rhino mean to you and what do they mean to Namibia?
“Dorsland's story should not end with her death,” says Cowley.
“If anything, that should be where her story begins. We want people to find Dorsland, take a photograph or video with her, and have some fun. But we also want them to stop for a moment and think about what they are standing next to. A rhino. A piece of the Kunene Region. A piece of Namibia. And a reminder of what we have, what communities have achieved, and what we stand to lose if we don't value it.”
