In this set of haunting and powerful images, photographer Nick Brandt explores the destruction of the wild in East Africa, where animals such as rhinos, lions and giraffes used to roam. Brandt used life-size prints of different African animals and transferred them onto giant panels, before matching up the horizon lines of the print and background and shooting the photos in black and white. The animals are portrayed to stare with despair at the ruins that used to be their previous habitat, like ghosts that miss their home. A visual protest of the devastation caused to the animals’ habitats, Brandt’s works are raising awareness of the need to fight to conserve for the sake of these beautiful creatures.

View more of his work here.