This essay is an extended and critical review, of John Hanks' book Operation Lock and the war on rhino poaching, which is an insider account of hitherto untold stories of a secretive undercover operation to gather intelligence to counter the ongoing slaughter of Africa's elephants and rhinos. Our critique employs the metaphor “ecology of mind”, following Gregory Bateson, to highlight how so much conservation effort with an espoused focus on improving natural ecologies fails at the level of “mind”, in particular the choices that are made to frame situations of concern. The outcome, we argue, is persistent framing failure. This failure, despite the efforts of Hanks with his authentic cry for more effective action, runs the risk of institutionalising systemic failure. Hanks consistently espouses support for local community as key stakeholders in the future of conservation − but his book lacks evidence of investment, good practice examples and institutional and governance reforms needed to create and sustain such initiatives. Indeed, the framing of the poaching challenge as a war presents barriers to finding systemic and sustainable solutions to the crisis.