Jill Hedgecock

Fiction Writer

rhino

3/5/19 Ohlone Audubon – Birds and Rhino Poaching:  The Best and Worst of South Africa and Botswana

March 5, 2019 – 7:00 pm
Meeting Location:
Robert Livermore Community Center,
4444 East Avenue, Livermore CA 94550
Some of the best bird and animal sightings from my 2015  trip to South Africa and Botswana will be shared.  As amazing as Africa’s living zoo is, there is also a dark side to this country.  In 2015, a new record was set for largest number of rhinos poached. This travesty is being fueled by demand for the keratinous material in the horn in the Asian market, based on the misguided belief that the horn has curative powers for everything from hangovers to impotency to cancer.  Driven largely by China and Vietnam, the heaviest consumers, an ounce of rhino horn (essentially the same material as our fingernails) is considered more valuable than gold.  A single rhino horn can go for a half-million dollars. There are now only two northern white rhinos left on the planet and just 5,000 of black rhino are left in the world today.  I will present the myriad of solutions that are being considered to address the problem.  If the current rate of poaching is not curtailed, wild rhinos could become extinct within the next few decades.

January Diablo Gazette Articles – Front Page!

I’m pleased to announce that my coverage of the Mount Diablo Audubon Christmas Bird Count made the front page of January’s Diablo Gazette. Also in this issue is my book review column of Tamara Shiloh’s Jaxon’s Magical Adventure: What if there were no Black People in the World?”(Page 10). My Rubydooby_do column featured sweet Walter, a German Shepherd (Page 10). Also a wonderful memorial to my brother-in-law, Lawr Michaels (Page 11).

http://www.diablogazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Diablo-Gazette-Digi-JAN19-.pdf

12/16 Rhino in the Room Reading and Book Signing – Walnut Creek Flashlight Books

Author Jill Hedgecock will read from her coming-of-age suspense novel, Rhino in the Room, on Sunday 12/16 at 4:00 pm at Flashlight Books at 1537 N Main St, Walnut Creek.  Come check out her muse board and learn about her writing process.  Her book was inspired by her 2015 visit to South Africa when she learned that 3 rhinos were poached every day for her horns. Jill also wrote the book because she noticed the limited availability of animal- and environmentally-related YA books and because she wanted to bring a safari experience to life for all ages. Jill has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Environmental Management. Come meet Jill as she reads from her debut novel at 4:00 pm with a book signing to follow and learn about rhinos.