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Three elephant calfs walking in a line, connected by their trunks.

MEGAN BRIEF

Website/Portfolio

IG: @meglbrief

Thesis

Exploring Multimedia Storytelling as a Novel Tool to Inspire Americans to Participate in Wildlife Conservation

ABSTRACT

Human and nonhuman animal lives are intimately entangled. In the age of the Anthropocene, it is imperative to reexamine our proximity and kinship with nature. Human-wildlife conflict can evolve into coexistence through conservation efforts marked by creativity and compassion. To inspire conservation action among North American audiences, we must enact novel ways of disseminating scientifically technical concepts.

Multimedia storytelling can encourage equitable involvement among lay participants in conservation spaces. When inclusive of Indigenous knowledges, and conscious of damage narratives, such innovative stories can empathetically communicate wildlife degradation and injustices, as well as animate vulnerable human and nonhuman communities.

In consonance with the explorative and experimental nature of my thesis, I would like to impart

readers with a multimedia story. I use my photographs, accompanied by written reflection, to recount my experiences in South Africa. The following series of images were taken at the Mahlahla Game Reserve, a slab of private property designated for paying tourists and trophy hunters. On this particular day, our 2019 RISD Global class, "The Art and Science of Conservation," was granted exclusive access to an event that was both intimate and chaotic—the relocation of sable antelope bulls.

Expiration Date

Wildlife vet prepares anesthesia for sable bulls

The veterinarian, seen precariously balancing anesthesia syringes, had to ensure the bulls were sedated through their transportation to the area of land where they would graze until their predetermined date of expiration. The fate of the bulls would be as clinical and as precise as the manner in which they were temporarily pacified now—however, the next injection would be lethal.

[Dis]order / Disassociate

hands pointing to signal relocation of sable antelope bull

In the dusty scuffle of flailing bodies, both human and animal, and in between the cacophony of bilingual commands, the American hunters, decorated in pink and green camo, enthusiastically took a front row seat in the bed of the truck.

System of Values / SEDATED

Man moves sedated antelope bull by his horns

The pandemonium was likely an exhilarating bonus to their nearly USD $20,000 ticket to shoot a preselected, pre-packaged moving target. The cost undoubtedly took into account the expenses associated with maintaining 30 acres of “breeding camp” territory. This cultivated land ensured the paying customers a genetically pure trophy, unadulterated by any physical deformities that might result from inbreeding among the herd. The sables were worth more money this way. Greater bragging rights too.

Caged

This static, disassociated, and productive system of values perpetuated by elite hunters, is the antithesis of morals shared by the South African conservationists who often sacrifice their lives to defend imperiled wildlife.

Guardians of Biodiversity

Precious Malapane, of the Southern African Wildlife College Anti-Poaching K9 Unit, doubles as a single mother and a dog-trainer. Wildlife rangers assume many roles in service of their communities. They may combat the illegal wildlife trade through military missions, become ecological researchers and conservation educators to local students, or become rehabilitators of injured and orphaned wildlife. Rangers monitor millions of acres of protected area, risking terrorist groups, disease, and fatal accidents, as well as separation from loved ones for what could be months at a time. Whether out in the field, protecting the world’s biodiversity, or at home, providing for their families, their impact is felt globally.

I was often told by the wildlife experts and rangers, that a dead animal is worth far more than a living one in the trade. A privately owned rhino for example, costs around USD $20,000 alive, whereas, post-slaughter, one can sell its horn on the black market for USD $60-70k per kg. It’s through this commodification of life that nonhuman animals, and the humans who protect them, become alienated, become less-than, become invisible.