Texas Rhino Hunter Gets Death Threats

The winner of a controversial hunting auction in Texas has had to hire security after hearing from a lot of people who want to do to him what he plans to do to one of the world's last 4,000 black rhinos. While he admits he will get a thrill from the hunt, Corey Knowlton says the people threatening him and his family misunderstand the purpose of his trip to Namibia, where he plans to kill an old, non-breeding male rhino that has become aggressive enough to endanger the rest of the herd, reports the BBC.

"We're just not going in there and saying 'hey we're on a rhino hunt and, here, have a beer we're going to find a rhino,'" Knowlton says. "No, it is a scientific process and we're going to make sure we get the ones that are causing the most problem." Knowlton paid $350,000 to win the Dallas Safari Club auction for one of the three rhino hunting permits Namibia sells every year, and the money will be used for conservation projects, the AP reports. (Also imperiled: A new survey has found lions are on the verge of extinction in West Africa.)