this is "nightline." tonight, blood horns. the wild life preserves of south africa, nothing is as it seems. saving a rhino might like this this and the poachers might look like this. bob woodruff takes us to the south african savanna and now

are, the hunter, setting their sights on them? plus -- >> i'm the youngest one doing it. >> meet social media sensation, a 9-year-old spilling cash, cursing and driving a car. what is she like behind the scenes. >> so she doesn't curse in real life? >> not at all. >> how much is too much for a child to handle. and cliff diving, a 90-foot drop at more than 50 miles per hour. we're on the jagged edge of the irish coast for the red bull cliff diving world series. >> it's like hitting concrete. it's hard. >> one wrong move could be their last. and late esch, at this boutique hotel in kenya, guests are up to their necks in giraffes. butting into bedrooms, tea time and even paying lip service.

>> i usually don't kiss on the first day. >> hire now, byron pitts. >> good evening. we begin tonight in the plains of south africa where rare white ryan nopes are hunted for the sale of their horns. bob woodruff was there last year, and innocent lives hanging in the balance. this jarring scene is becoming more and more common throughout south africa. it may look like this animal is in distress. but farmers here claim the extreme measure may be the only way to save the rhino. what is clear -- the national

parks in south africa are under siege. all for this. worth over $300,000 on the black market. it's a brutal trade. poaching is a story we all know. but now this country, the courts are a complicated story and the bad guys may be even worse than you thought. >> people kill for v for this. >> reporter: so are some says the good guys might have ulterior motives. >> this is the gold and the diamonds of the modern world. >> reporter: and hanging like a cloud over everything, one photograph that maybe signal the very last organization anyone needs here in south africa,

isis. >> it's not a big problem for them to actually come in here and do what they want to. >> reporter: so we travel to the south africa savanna to try to get to the bottom of it all. kruger national park is ground zero. there's a spot. i see some bones. this is nothing new to this forensics team. it's the third crime scene of the day and there is not much left to work with. what are you looking for with the detector? once the poachers shoot the rhino, they move in quickly to hack off the horns. often the rhino is still alive when they do it. >> if you look at the marks here -- >> reporter: with a man machete? >> they do it like this.

>> reporter: poaches numbers are up over 8,000%. 13 in 2007 to more than 1,000 last year, three white rhinos killed every single day and experts believe they could be wiped out in the next few years. rhino horns can be found throughout asna v ja like this market or the black market in vietnam in this under cover video ya. the horns are made of keratin, the same as human fingernails, they will stop at nothing to get to the last horn. is kruger very dangerous to work in? >> it's quite dangerous park to work in. >> reporter: this officer spoke v spoke on condition that we could blur his face and disguise his voice. he says there are 8 to 12 poachers in kruger every day.

this is a disgusting seen. >> there are 1500 of these killed? >> yes. >> reporter: but there might be some hope. this is a bell 407-gt. an updated version of the army's warrior used on the battlefield from vietnam to iraq. this one has a different mission. this is rhino 911. >> up westbound. >> reporter: a nonprofit, funded by a weapons company in nevada. >> you have to see, the rhino is spread so far, they hear shots fired at night. who is going to respond to that? no one except for rhino 911. >> south african farmer and pilot niko jacobs, they are

working around the clock to protect ryan nopes and other wild life. >> you just don't stop it. it's what we do. >> reporter: at times it looks like combat medicine. the veterinarian darting them from the air. he and his team must act quickly. operating on the wounded right then and there. >> that's the entrance. and all the way up here. >> once they are given medication to reverse the anesthesia, you have to be quick. >> until she turns around. >> reporter: it's frightening. rhino 911's advance state of the artd technology makes tracking people and animals from 4,000 to

8,000 feet in the air a reality, giving them an advantage against poachers and putting themselves in the cross hairs. >> we run by people in the community, and our names have been put on a list to be targeted. and as i asked for what, they said, just be careful, remove your family pictures mpbs once they come in your country to kill an animal if you stand in the way, they come for you as well. >> reporter: this south african defense official would only speak to us in shadow but he has information about how rhino 911 might be targeted. >> the coachers, they are looking for bringing bigger weapons in the herselves to shoot at them and that is including rpgs. >> rocket propelled grenades, capable of bringing down a

helicopter. >> the coaches vers will shoot at them. people that don't care about lives and that is part of your organized crime. you and also find that it escalate into something bigger. >> one of the private security organizations were called out to a poaching igncident. they arrested three poachers. they found a rocket, and tank rocket with one of the poachers. >> reporter: the rocket was troubling enough. but where it may have come from is shocking. >> we were able through a confidential network take a look at the serial number of the rocket and place the bag that it was issued to a u.s. government to an armny in mosul prior to isis overran mosul.

if it finds its way from iraq to south africa. >> they have had attacks in egypt, kenya, and isis captured arms in south africa? >> the way we look at it, one single horn on the black market can buy 1,000 ak-47 rifles. a horn can feed 75,000 isis followers for 12 months. >> isis create i6 to generate revenue to fund their activities. oil on the black market. stolen anticities and criminal activity. >> in a sense time for south africa. violent crime and unemployment are soaring, and the president zum ma va was ousted earlier

this year. >> border control and law enforcement are overstretched, concerns about corruption and there are large areas of land that are unguarded. >> and now isis on the run, after losing the capital to government forces and making south africa more appealing. >> law enforcement and terrorism authorities are concerned it will be an attractive safe haven for fighters. >> and that land, owned by largely white farmers, is now frequently under attack. farmers assaulted and animals poached, making farmer in south africa a dangerous occupation. ryan that 911's co- founder's farm has been attacked four times. a fifth attempt while we were there. do you have any idea why it happen snnchth they take everything they can take. and unfortunately, we are lucky

to be living. they need to die here. they will be part of the statistics. >> reporter: these threats have been a boom with security companies, and sales of electric fences, and herselves. ryan that 911 looking to expand its fleet and duties. >> yes? we're on the way, 100%. >> reporter: it's 3:00 a.m. and the team gears up. >> you have the infared light? >> yes. >> a house invasion. we're going check it out. we have the police on pursuit. >> shut give us -- we will get the coordinates and report them on the ground. >> reporter: the night vision allows us to clearly read signs

in pitch black. those are police cars on the side of the road. the cameras pick up heat from anything moving on the ground including alleged home invaders. there they are and they have no idea they have been spotted. they pass the suspects' coordinates to lal police but their main mission is to stop poachers. is there for an altruistic love of wild animals? when we come back, private farmers who some say are harvesting horns for future profit. >> we see what the ryan that can be the goose that can lay its own golden egg. >> reporter: and a country that is rising on the river of money about to run through.

"nightline" continues. bob woodruff reports. >> reporter: this could become the new normal in south africa, herds of hornless rhino. >> we want the rhinos to last as long as possible. we want to be able to harvest horns when we can to meet the international demand. >> reporter: many farmers say it's a no-brainer. and some have had a change of  heart. >> we have so de-horn the

rhinos. i fout that decision for about five years, and it cost five rhinos, and i ever never get over it. >> reporter: critics say the de-horning is you want to get rich. and this is what they are fighting for. >> de-horning is a last resort. we have our backs up against the wall now. >> reporter: but de-horning entails a new threat. >> the risk is extremely high. the minute the horn comes off the animal, the risk is on the owner. >> reporter: you have weapons and everything else here? >> yeah, everyone is armed. >> reporter: a young calf is up first. they dart it right away. but the mother needs a second dart. niko comes in for the dart and all they go. the horns are cut and sanded, leaving behind a kousm inches so

kit it can regrow. >> it breaks my heart they will dehorn him. and they look so beautiful with the horns. >> reporter: every sing the horn is collected, measured and bagged in front of a nature representative. >> it's not to snag them off. it's to slowly keep it in mind and we can do that. >> reporter: again, rhino horn is basically just keratin. >> that is just shavings from the horn. and it's the same as human nails. it's forms the horn. >> reporter: and just like fingernails, the horn grows back, providing an inexhaustible

commodity. >> it's going to be the gloos lay its own golden egg. >> reporter: the debate has reached a boiling point and a ban that would make it legal to sell rhino horn internationally. >> a number of african ministers standing shoulder to shoulder, how dare you come to africa and try to prescribe to us our conservation policy. >> reporter: many private rhino owners in south africa believe that lifting the ban will curb the poaching. >> individuals are banking on extinction. it's going from health to wealth. they are speculating of extinction. >> this rhino owner allowed "nightline" into his vault ach he promised to not show his face. you have been storing them for

sale. >> we have to put them away. >> reporter: who wants to buy them now? >> the only mashlgt is air shall, but not here. >> reporter: how much do you think you can get for that. >> that is a lot of money. >> reporter: this is the gold and the diamonds of the modern world. >> yeah. >> reporter: millions of dollars worth waiting to be sold. but it's animals that are paying the price. >> i can put my hand in here. >> reporter: with constant medical care, they have kept him alive. what would do you if you found the poacher? >> chop him to pieces. a few times, we shot them. but next time -- they are dead, dead, dead. >> if we catch a poacher or kill a poacher, he is replaced the next day. the demand is so high.

we are losing the an 3458s. >> reporter: but with rhino horn demand at an all-time high and krim malterror groups profiting off the sale, they are poached into extinction. >> we're in a losing war, and hopefully they will be able to buy them some time for humanity to reassess itself. >> reporter: but who will ultimately determine how much time the rhinos have left? >> our thanks to bob woodruff. social media star saying all the wrong words. but someone else pufting them in your mouth.

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"nightline" continues. >> the quest for social media

stardom can be a bumpy ride. little tay is 9 years old, and she is catching the attention of millions. are raf and bad words. want spotlight comes with a lot of heat. and exposing a child like this crs a line? here is juju chang. >> reporter: taylor may look like your average elementary schooler. >> an interview with abc. >> reporter: but most 9-year-olds don't pull stunts like this. for her 2 million followers oge instagram, she is known for the foul-mouthed track talking alter ego, little tay. her shtick, a mashup of antics and over the top mimicking of gangster rappers. >> the haters [ bleep ] --

>> pretending to use the the n word. >> you don't have that view. >> who is little tya? >> i'm only 9 years old but i'mm more ma sure than the haters. >> reporter: but the pint size the social media star is rising questions about the potential for exploitation of children in the unchartered waters of social media. >> this is just who i able. this is my personality. >> reporter: sat down with her and her mom six weeks after they moved from canada to hollywood to pursue her dream of fame. there are many parents that will say, where are the parents? >> i'm a proud mom. it's a great parent and my daughter has accomplished so

much by herself. >> reporter: over several hours with us, little tay slips in and out of character. she is soft spoken. >> there are a lot of tours and sightseeing. >> reporter: the mom claims the straight "a" opportunistudent wl home schooled. >> drawing, painting. >> i'm 9 years old. >> reporter: the dr. jekyll of her mr. hyde. alternating between a fantasy world that she can't keep up with. i want to har 1r5rd this year. >> reporter: i did you did. what city is harvard in. >> i forgot. >> reporter: the reality she is just a little girl. and sbrebt status pushing the envelope what is provocative. >> it's controversy. how they get to be known. >> reporter: do they love to

hate on her? >> they are fans of hers. >> reporter: snoop dogg accusing her brother on coaching her. learning how to be a little girl. and the #saveliltay. >> reporter: we don't do that. >> reporter: but the manager says it'ses a sibling collaboration. >> she has about four. >> reporter: you were listed as her manager. were you running the social media account? >> i use my own instagram. >> all the ideas come from her. very ma sure. >> reporter: some say the subject matter makes her entertaining. voot taken down from her instagram page, she pretends to be doing drugs. >> she accident a wonderful

child, and a top student in school. >> reporter: this message is i'm a drop out. i'm a drug user. >> i'm not drug user. everyone knows that is a carrot. >> reporter: she doesn't do drugs in the videos. she is really driving this car. >> you hate on a 9-year-old. i ain't got a license. y'all don't even have a car. i don't have a car but i feel like -- >> the pampbts. always they support here. >> reporter: you were there when she was driving the rolls-royce? >> yes. >> reporter: you understand that is illegal, right? >> we made it very secure. her safety and happiness is most important to me. >> reporter: some of her toughest criticisms is the use of expletives and use of slang. >> it helps me get pumped up and

motivated to get things done throughout the day. >> reporter: they are worth that most 9 year olds are forbidden to use. >> but she never cursed in real life. >> i haven't even said one curse word. >> reporter: whether she is offensive or entertaining is up for debate. but she has become a cyber bumlying. and some you can't repeat on television. >> she doesn't read the comments. she is enjoying them. >> reporter: just because shy doesn't read them doesn't mean they exist. >> you don't look very happy. >> that was before. now i'm happier than before. >> when you are constantly barraged with comments that are negative, children do not have the capacity to just slough them off and kit wreak havoc in her

self-worth. >> reporter: as for the net worth, it's unclear how much she actually earns. abc news that she filmed using his car and property, all without his permission. >> i made a decision to resign. >> reporter: how do you respond to critics who say you try to profit of your daughter now. >> that is not true. >> no one is forcing know do this. i decided to do this. >> reporter: but that is fictional fortune in videos appears to be turning into real cash. liltay landing her first enforcement deal with tunes audio. where did you buy the sweatshirt? >> gucci. >> reporter: you went to the gucci store and said here is my credit card? >> i had cash. >> reporter: famous on infamous, she is stepping back and takes

down her stain gram posts for now. the manager telling her part of a rebrand. if you are willing to take her world for it, the only problem is choosing which mansion to stay in. >> i bought five houses. >> reporter: you're nine. >> i'm the youngest. i can do anything. next -- extreme athletes plunging in icy waters at 50 miles an hour and living to do it again. how they pull it off.

>> "nightline" continues. once begin, byron pitts.

>> cliff divers say that hitting water at 50 miles an hour can file like slamming in the concrete. if your body is interin perfect position, you can suffer injuries, spinal injuries or death. why do it? we follow athletes to ireland to find out. here is abc's gloria rivera. >> reporter: at the extreme edge of the world, jagged cliffs. cl. they call serpant's layer. and all for the perfect david is one of them. >> all in all, first dive. that is the most nerve-racking. >> reporter: this is the world

bull cliff diving world series last summer and one way out, a 90-foot plunge through darkness. we first met david last year. months into his training in california. the grueling physical demand on a diver have domated his life since he was a lite boy. now his own bod can do the challenge. david is fighting back from shoulder injury that stole last season from him. >> it was long and tough and nerve-racking and trstrenuous. >> reporter: a different challenge for a gymnast diver. >> i'm excited. i thoep is my year. >> reporter: one of the first women allowed to compete at the perpant's layer. >> you can get hurt really bad. that is always in the back of your mind when you go up that

high. >> reporter: we set out across the stunning irish count side. >> we come from the east coast to bub lynn and now it's amazing. we made it and we missed the last ferry. lucky for us, we have a boat. more than 24 hours of travel later, we are in the dead of night. and the layer until dawn. just after daybreak, we meet up with david. i feel like we are at the edge of the world. >> yeah, it's a pretty cool spot. >> limestone twists and suddenly, a perfect rectangle is revealed at low tide. no way. how did a kid from toledo come hire? >> the short story. my dad said he dropped me on my

head too many times. >> reporter: just 5 years old and in college, dreaming of olympic gold. this is big for a couple reasons but you're coming back from a big injury. >> the toughest injury i ever had. i tore my labrum, and my bicep. >> what are the dangers? >> the consequences are severe. the speeds that we hit, about 57 miles per hour, hitting that water, you hear the analogy, it's like hitting concrete. torn muscling and ligaments. really bad entries can be loss of consciousness, the margin of error is small. definitely a little nervous but exciting as well. >> reporter: it's time for his first practice dive. >> it's been a long build up to this. >> reporter: they hit the water and there are four safety divers

on hand if anything goes how was it? it looked good. from i was standing, it did. how did it feel? >> a little every on the >> reporter: his second dive. so every dive, you go on a roller coaster from terrified to overjoyed. this is what you do, every time, for a dive, there is a little hint of fear? >> absolutely. and it can start weeks before you come. it comes as soon as you touch down. it hits when you step on the platform. >> reporter: all the athletes say they feel it. >> you have the wind, the rain. it's cold here. you have a horizon, water that is endless and you're looking at it hoping that what you see is

still going to be see what you see in a dive. hopefully it doesn't change. >> reporter: it's time. >> i think that once the first dive goes in, i will be able to calm down a bit. >> reporter: a big attraction for locals. >> game time. >> reporter: first the men. david heads up for his first dive. >> you okay? >> yeah. >> yeah, and you are looking for the 9s and 10z but in the conditions, the first event of the year. we will start with that. >> reporter: now the women. stephanie claiming 7th. >> i'm proud of myself. i didn't want to do it. so it's cool.

>> reporter: david's final drive, three somersaults and three twists and he overrotates at the bottom. fintsing in fifth place. but he has another chance at victory this year, a new season kicked off with stunning locations from spain to switzerland, and david, at the forefront of this extreme sport, keeping his olympic dreams alive is a win. >> it's potentially an olympic sport. it's a dream i have had as a kid. traditional diving to cliff diving. and forge yoush own path. next, it's just like a petting zoo except the animals pet you. juju chang goes inside the giraffe manner.

i. "nightline" continues. seeing a giraffe up close is unforgettable experience. but licked in the face by one is surreal. at giraffe manor in nairobi, nab kenya, you can get neck to neck with them. here is juju chang. >> reporter: it's breakfast time at giraffe manner and i have party crashers.

excuse me. you have to have a little decor rum here. one for you. one for me. fraternizing with the guests is not only allowed but encouraged here. so they feel a kinship and annals. you usually don't kiss on the first date. what are you doing snowstorm it's standard fare at the most extraordinary of hotels outside of nairobi, kenya, everywhere you turn, there they are. sticking your heads in bedroom win dopes, and mingling with the guests. >> they have characters. >> interrupting our interview. >> it just got nuts. >> there are 12 giraffes here. margaret, bella, stacy and at the end is kelly. kelly is -- you can see she is slightly pregnant. the stomach is

>> but it's not cru kru crumpets. and they were considered vuler in rabble for the first time in 2016. >> some of the species are down 60% of the numbers. and by 2030, the trend continues and the species will be >> reporter: there are far more elephants. a half million versus just 90,000. >> you cannot imagine that the animal can be threatened but the history of this place is built simply on this thet. >> it was created on the premise of saving the creatures. back in the '70s, an american, former fashion model, con

vintsed her husband to allow three giraffes to live on their land. >> she managed to persuade her husband this is a great thing to did. they wanted to save this amazing spears of giraffes, and grow them from -- to nairobi,,,,,, repopulate them again. >> and the giraffe center educates the local population, and fosters breeding programs to increase giraffe in the wild. when we come back, we head to nairobi national foork see the it theres up close. >> if you look up ahead, you can see the problem. >> and one person on a

>> "nightline" continues with juju chang. >> reporter: giraffes, nature's gentle giants. are facing what experts call a

silent extinction. their population down 40% in 20 years. one of the biggest issues facing giraffes is urban encroachment. as populations grow and cities expand, their lose habitats. >> look how closely the urban sprawl is approaching on the habitats. this is the national park and this is the highway. nowhere is it more clear than nairobi national park. at 44 square miles, it's twice the size of manhattan but its parameters are whittled down. >> that is downtown nairobi. >> reporter: we head to the park with the giraffe conservation foundation. he is gets his phd at michigan state. amidst the monkeys and zebras and giraffes dotting the

landscape, another sight. >> you look up ahead and you can see the real problem. they are housing developments coming up. >> yeah. >> and a few years back, we never had that. and all this used to be open and now, they are just there. >> reporter: detour. >> that giraffe is holding its ground. it's like, no, i ain't moving. you're in my hood. >> a giraffe kick with break lion's back. but they are killed off from trophy hunters to approachers. >> they are hunted for their meat, and bones. se some places, it's tradition toal believe that bones and marrow can cure aids. >> reporter: so they will kill an animal -- >> for the small tail. >> reporter: man is the biggest threat to giraffes. >> yeah, in a nutshell. one way to put it.

>> reporter: arthur's foundation has gone to dramatic lengths to reverse the trends, tracking poaching snares and transporting giraffes across the nile river by ferry, away from the drilling in uganda, in the pbs documentary, africa's gentle giants. >> i have never had more stress in any life. >> reporter: adding to this, a pr opportunity for the glorious animals. >> the thing s we have had good media coverage. so giraffe, they have come up in the last ten years. so they have a real need to do more and get more danger and see what you can do better to protect the population. >> reporter: you think they have silently going extinct? >> they are heading in that direction. >> reporter: a grim reality as nothing is more dangerous than silence.

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