Texan Marksman Kills Black Rhino During a Controversial Hunt in Namibia

First, he courted controversy by buying a $ 350,000 permit to hunt the endangered Black Rhino. Then he hunts the animal in Namibia, attracting more international criticism.

Texan hunter Corey Knowlton bid for the Namibian government permit to hunt a black rhino in 2014 through the Dallas Safari Club. News of his bagging the permit to hunt the endangered species attracted worldwide criticism from wildlife conservationists.

Knowlton however has maintained that he is helping the conservation cause by hunting down an elder male that has been approved for kill as it does not contribute to the gene pool and is a threat to younger males.

"The whole world knows about this hunt and I think it's extremely important that people know it's going down the right way, in the most scientific way that it can possibly happen," Knowlton reportedly told CNN news crew that went along, during the hunt in northern Namibia.

Knowlton was permitted to hunt one of two old black rhino males by the Namibian government. His initial attempts last week proved unsuccessfully as he was tracking an animal that was moving in dense shrubbery. Later, he managed to incapacitate the animal, an old male, before it was put down.

"I felt like from day one it was something benefiting the black rhino. Being on this hunt, with the amount of criticism it brought and the amount of praise it brought from both sides, I don't think it could have brought more awareness to the black rhino," he said. The bid amount will be used by the Namibian government for conservation of the black rhino which currently number less than 2,000.