South Africa is home to nearly 80 percent of the world's rhino population. But since the early 2000, they have been poached to near extinction. More than one thousand rhinos are killed in the country each year for their horns. A South African conservationist is campaigning to end the scourge, and has challenged everyone to fight the war on poaching. CGTN's Julie Scheier has the story.

Rhino poaching is being treated as a war. South Africa is home to around 20,000 rhinos, some 80 percent of the worldwide population. But the species is in danger of disappearing.

GARETH PUTTER FOUNDER, ROCKING FOR RHINOS "We are losing two to three rhinos per day in South Africa to the rhino poaching crisis and we can't let them go extinct on our watch and we are getting there some species of rhinos have been around for fifty-million years there used to be about 5,000 wild rhino roaming the planet and we are literarily down to about 29,000 wild rhinos on the planet at the moment, so we literarily have lost about 96%."

For 20 days Rocking for Rhinos founder, Gareth Putter has lived on this 16 meter high tower, hoping to raise awareness and money for rhino anti-poaching beneficiaries.

GARETH PUTTER FOUNDER, ROCKING FOR RHINOS "I am living in this little box for a while, I am not coming down and What I am trying to do here is prove a point and show the world there is a problem, let's address it and whilst doing that simultaneously using the platform to raise funds."

The aim is to live here for a month. Gareth has kept himself busy, but Rocking for Rhinos needs more support to reach their target.

GARETH PUTTER FOUNDER, ROCKING FOR RHINOS "We need help we do need assistance we can't let things like this happen there's a balance in nature and humans are destroying the balance all around us and if nature go we go, so yes, I am passionate about it and there is a problem with nature and we have to stand up and get involved."

JULIE SCHEIER JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA "Rocking for Rhinos aims to raise the minimum of one-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollars with this initiative and is challenging people around the world to put an end to rhino poaching - JULIE SCHEIER - CGTN - JOHANNESBURG - SOUTH AFRICA."