Blythe Loutit
Encyclopedia
Blythe Loutit née Pascoe (14 November 1940 Natal
, South Africa
– 15 June 2005 Namibia
), was a founder member of the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT), an artist and a respected conservationist.
The youngest of four children, she grew up on her parents' farm in Natal and received her schooling in Pietermaritzburg
. Inspired by her mother who was a landscape gardener, Blythe worked for some time as a botanical illustrator at the Botanic Research Institute of South Africa and met Rudi Loutit, her future husband, at the Wilderness Leadership School in Natal. They were married in 1973 and because the war in Angola
ruled out settling there, they opted for the relative safety of Namibia. Rudi took up a position at the Skeleton Coast National Park while Blythe spent her time drawing and painting. Outraged by the slaughter of rhino and elephant in the area at the hands of the South African Defence Force
and poachers in the 1980s, Blythe Loutit and Ina Britz formed the Namibia Wildlife Trust, followed a few years later by the Save the Rhino Trust, aimed at conserving the rhino and elephants in the desert.
Blythe enlisted the help of tribal chiefs, news media, miners, geologists and even soldiers, and appointed rehabilitated poachers as game guards. She involved village communities, badgered government officials and set up community tourism programmes. Politicians and affluent businessmen who entered Namibia to hunt for trophies, were identified by name in the media. Her personal initiative averted probable extinction for the black rhino in Namibia as rhino numbers slowly grew and the information compiled by SRT became widely regarded as comprehensive and reliable. The problems Blythe Loutit faced were similar to those experienced in the 1950s by Ian Player
in trying to save the white rhino.
Blythe illustrated a number of books on Namibian flora, landscapes and wildlife, most of the proceeds going to rhino conservation. Save the Rhino Trust was founded to try and halt the destruction of the desert-dwelling black rhinoceros
in the Kunene Region
(Damaraland
and Kaokoland
). Since 1982 she had devoted all her time to rhino projects in Namibia.
In 1986 Blythe received the IUCN Species Survival Commission's Peter Scott
Merit Award together with husband Rudi Loutit, the 'Survival Award for the Conservation of an Endangered Species' in 1992, and in 2001 the BBC
's 'Animal Award for the Conservation of a Species'.
Blythe Loutit died of cancer in 2005.
Natal Province
Natal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
– 15 June 2005 Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
), was a founder member of the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT), an artist and a respected conservationist.
The youngest of four children, she grew up on her parents' farm in Natal and received her schooling in Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
. Inspired by her mother who was a landscape gardener, Blythe worked for some time as a botanical illustrator at the Botanic Research Institute of South Africa and met Rudi Loutit, her future husband, at the Wilderness Leadership School in Natal. They were married in 1973 and because the war in Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
ruled out settling there, they opted for the relative safety of Namibia. Rudi took up a position at the Skeleton Coast National Park while Blythe spent her time drawing and painting. Outraged by the slaughter of rhino and elephant in the area at the hands of the South African Defence Force
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force was the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. The former Union Defence Force was renamed to the South African Defence Force in the Defence Act of 1957...
and poachers in the 1980s, Blythe Loutit and Ina Britz formed the Namibia Wildlife Trust, followed a few years later by the Save the Rhino Trust, aimed at conserving the rhino and elephants in the desert.
Blythe enlisted the help of tribal chiefs, news media, miners, geologists and even soldiers, and appointed rehabilitated poachers as game guards. She involved village communities, badgered government officials and set up community tourism programmes. Politicians and affluent businessmen who entered Namibia to hunt for trophies, were identified by name in the media. Her personal initiative averted probable extinction for the black rhino in Namibia as rhino numbers slowly grew and the information compiled by SRT became widely regarded as comprehensive and reliable. The problems Blythe Loutit faced were similar to those experienced in the 1950s by Ian Player
Ian Player
Dr. Ian Player DMS , is an international conservationist.-Biography:Player was educated at St. John’s College, Johannesburg, South Africa and served in the 6th South African Armoured Division attached to the American 5th Army in Italy 1944–46.His conservation career started with the Natal Parks...
in trying to save the white rhino.
Blythe illustrated a number of books on Namibian flora, landscapes and wildlife, most of the proceeds going to rhino conservation. Save the Rhino Trust was founded to try and halt the destruction of the desert-dwelling black rhinoceros
Black Rhinoceros
The Black Rhinoceros or Hook-lipped Rhinoceros , is a species of rhinoceros, native to the eastern and central areas of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Angola...
in the Kunene Region
Kunene Region
Kunene is one of the thirteen regions of Namibia and home to the Himba ethnic group. Compared to the rest of Namibia, it is relatively underdeveloped...
(Damaraland
Damaraland
Damaraland was a name given to the north-central part of what later became Namibia, inhabited by the Damaras. It was bounded roughly by Ovamboland in the north, the Namib Desert in the west, the Kalahari Desert in the east, and Windhoek in the south....
and Kaokoland
Kaokoland
Kaokoland is an area in Northern Namibia, in the Kunene Region. It is one of the wildest and less populated areas in Namibia, with a population density of one person every 2 km², that is 1/4 of the national average. The most represented ethnic group is the Himba people, that accounts for...
). Since 1982 she had devoted all her time to rhino projects in Namibia.
In 1986 Blythe received the IUCN Species Survival Commission's Peter Scott
Peter Scott
Sir Peter Markham Scott, CH, CBE, DSC and Bar, MID, FRS, FZS, was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer and sportsman....
Merit Award together with husband Rudi Loutit, the 'Survival Award for the Conservation of an Endangered Species' in 1992, and in 2001 the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's 'Animal Award for the Conservation of a Species'.
Blythe Loutit died of cancer in 2005.