A Cryptic Tweet Opens the Door to Yao Ming’s Africa

http://mashable.com/2012/08/27/yao-africa/

http://mashable.com/2012/08/27/yao-africa/#view_as_one_page-gallery_box7267

Yao Ming Plays With a Cute Baby Elephant

Photo by Kristian Schmidt for WildAid

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Yao Ming Strolls With Samburu Community Members at Sunset

Photo by Kristian Schmidt for WildAid

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Yao Ming Bottle-Feeds a Young Elephant

Photo by Kristian Schmidt for WildAid

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Yao Ming Intently Watches Two Young Elephants Nuzzle

Photo by Kristian Schmidt for WildAid

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Yao Ming Pets a Tired Rhino

Photo by Kristian Schmidt for WildAid

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Yao Ming Looks Disapprovingly at a Pile of Poached Elephant Tusks

Photo by Kristian Schmidt for WildAid

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Yao Ming, on Safari, Surveys the Scene

Photo by Kristian Schmidt for WildAid

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Yao Ming Sits With Samburu Elders and Dwarfs Them Completely

Photo by Kristian Schmidt for WildAid

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A Samburu Elder Examines Yao Ming's Hand

Photo by Kristian Schmidt for WildAid

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Yao Ming Poses for a Photo With Kenyan School Children

Photo by Kristian Schmidt for WildAid

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“I came face to face with a large black rhino,” reads the message broadcast to the world via retired NBA star Yao Ming’s Twitter account Monday afternoon. A rugged, succinct missive more befitting Ernest Hemingway or Bear Grylls than a 7-foot-6 Chinese basketball legend.

But a link in the tweet indeed leads to a close-up shot of a black rhino’s face. It’s part of a post written from Africa for yaomingblog.com. Closer inspection reveals the rhino close-up is just one of many epic shots from Yao’s apparent trip to the continent this month.

But what is the global icon and future Hall of Famer doing in Africa? And what is the meaning behind his cryptic tweet?

A (minimal) amount of digging finds the blog post is just one of many from a trip Yao embarked on to help bring attention to the effects that demand for rhino horn and ivory products in Asia has on the animals in Africa. He’s there on behalf of WildAid, an NGO that works to curb wildlife smuggling worldwide. Turns out, Yao has been an ambassador for WildAid since 2006, and previously served as the face of its “Say No to Shark Fin Soup” campaign in China.

This is Yao‘s first visit to Africa — he’s touring Kenya and South Africa, more specifically — and WildAid spokesperson Eric Desatnik tells Mashable social media is key making the trip have an impact on the global trade for elephant and rhino parts.

“Social media is critical to the campaign’s success,” Desatnik wrote in an email. “Yao is blogging in China and internationally and using his social media channels to bring awareness to this issue and to inspire and encourage conservation. So far, Yao’s trip has received social media ‘shout-outs’ from fellow WildAid Ambassadors, Leonardo Dicaprio, Edward Norton, and Maggie Q.”

Click through the gallery above for some of the best shots Yao has shared from Africa, and check out his blogfor more info.