A flair for conservation

Eric Garbers from Red Bull and the Rhino Momma Project have displayed a flair for rhino conservation.
JUSTISIA SHIPENA
Evany van Wyk

Rhino-lover Eric Garbers (24) is a Red Bull Namibia BMX athlete who was born and raised in Windhoek. He has done what many deemed impossible.

Garbers, with support from Red Bull Namibia, recently attempted and succeeded in executing a BMX bike trick called a flair, with rhinos in Namibia.

A flair is a technical BMX trick that combines a backflip with a 180-degree turn.

This was part of his contribution toward rhino conservation in Namibia. Garbers collaborated with the Rhino Momma Project to generate awareness about rhino poaching in Namibia.

The Rhino Momma Project was founded in 2011 as an effort to address the decreasing rhino population around the world and to repopulate Namibia with these magnificent animals.

Since then, the initiative has grown into a successful rhino conservation project that sees rhinos living freely in the wild.

According to the founder of the project, who preferred anonymity, the most difficult obstacle faced was to get the animals used to the ramp and someone riding and jumping so close to them.

“These wild animals roam free in huge areas and are not tame, domesticated animals. The whole team we met were really great. It was a privilege to work with them all,” the project founder said.

Rhino Momma would also love for youth to become involved and help educate the nation about poaching, and the sustainable utilisation of Namibia’s wildlife.

“Animals cannot talk, please become their mouthpiece and become involved.”

They hope to get more people involved and raise more funds needed to save these animals from extinction.

Garbers started the #flair4rhinoschallenge concept to motivate BMX athletes around the world to get involved in the fight against rhino poaching. He has challenged all BMX athletes to post a photo of a BMX trick on social media with the hashtag #flair4rhinoschallenge, to increase awareness of the current situation in Namibia.

His interest in BMX riding started at a young age, but further intensified at the age of 15, and since then he has never stopped.

He said this initiative has immensely challenged his endurance as an athlete.

“I really had to be push himself because I had to do the trick over 200 times in one weekend, in order to get the perfect shot,” said Garbers.

He admitted he was a little scared at first, but later realised he just had to get to know the animals.

He said the photos sparked a lot of interest and a few people thought they were photoshopped. “The challenge has gained great traction so far, with BMX athletes from Dubai and South Africa joining in on the #flair4rhinoschallenge,” said Garbers.

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Katima Mulilo: 19° | 36° Rundu: 19° | 29° Eenhana: 19° | 29° Oshakati: 21° | 30° Ruacana: 20° | 33° Tsumeb: 19° | 29° Otjiwarongo: 16° | 29° Omaruru: 19° | 32° Windhoek: 17° | 29° Gobabis: 17° | 30° Henties Bay: 16° | 20° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 11:22, High tide: 05:24, Low Tide: 23:26, High tide: 17:46 Swakopmund: 16° | 17° Wind speed: 24km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:20, High tide: 05:22, Low Tide: 23:24, High tide: 17:44 Walvis Bay: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 27km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:20, High tide: 05:21, Low Tide: 23:24, High tide: 17:43 Rehoboth: 19° | 30° Mariental: 23° | 34° Keetmanshoop: 24° | 35° Aranos: 22° | 33° Lüderitz: 15° | 28° Ariamsvlei: 24° | 35° Oranjemund: 14° | 25° Luanda: 27° | 28° Gaborone: 20° | 32° Lubumbashi: 17° | 26° Mbabane: 16° | 21° Maseru: 11° | 29° Antananarivo: 16° | 27° Lilongwe: 17° | 27° Maputo: 20° | 28° Windhoek: 17° | 29° Cape Town: 17° | 28° Durban: 20° | 24° Johannesburg: 16° | 24° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 20° | 30° Harare: 16° | 29° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.79 | EUR to NAD 20.36 | CNY to NAD 2.61 | USD to NAD 18.87 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.74 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.77 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.39 | USD to AOA 832.63 | USD to BWP 13.71 | USD to EGP 47.35 | USD to KES 130.98 | USD to NGN 1415.13 | USD to ZAR 18.87 | USD to ZMW 25.01 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 74536 Up +0.85% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1528.69 Up +0.84% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 12986.94 Up +0.04% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 27559.35 Down -2.36% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - 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Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 233.12/OZ UP +1.93% | Copper US$ 3.99/lb UP +0.12% | Zinc US$ 2 455.50/T UP 0% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.65/BBP UP +1.46% | Platinum US$ 908.62/OZ UP +1.53%