Wildlands has been one of the six official charities that benefit from Comrades for several years. As part of Wildlands’ fundraising incentives for 2016, ‘Rhino runners’ were challenged to raise a minimum of R 20 000 to stand a chance to attend an unforgettable rhino experience at the community owned Somkhanda Game Reserve in Northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Somkhanda Game Reserve, owned by the Gumbi community and managed in partnership with Wildlands, holds significant populations of endangered species, namely Rhino and Wild Dog. With the current and numerous threats facing these animals, constant monitoring is imperative to their conservation. This monitoring is carried out on the reserve daily by the Wildlife ACT team with assistance from the Zululand Anti-poaching Unit.
Wildlands hosted the 9 top fundraisers at Somkhanda recently to gain first-hand experience with the conservation work on the reserve, towards which the funds raised were allocated.
On day one, runners were welcomed by the Wildlands team and treated to a game drive with a difference where the Wildlife ACT team took them on a Wild Dog tracking exercise. Today, there are less than 4500 Wild Dogs in the wild and they are critically endangered. While tracking the resident Wild Dog pack, guests witnessed the pack of 8 killing a young Wildebeest. This is a rare experience and as much as it was brutal, it was a sobering fact of life.
Day two was all about Rhino. Wildlands have taken a decision to dehorn all Rhino on the reserve to help curb the poaching threat. In 2015, 1175 rhino were poached in South Africa which was a slight drop from 2014; this is indicative of the efforts being made on the ground through projects like Project Rhino Tracker, Aerial Support and Investigations and Prosecutions. These are all the projects supported by the Comrades runners who ‘Run for Rhino.’
Once the Rhino has been dehorned, they are fitted with VHF Satellite trackers which help the field ranger team to track as well as study various movements and behaviours of the Rhino on the reserve. Vet, Dr Mike Toft explains; “All the work we do is not always fun but we do what we need to do in order to manage and ensure that our wildlife is secured and protected.”
Total funds raised by the Wildlands ‘Rhino Runners’ in 2016 is over R 500 000 and this is all thanks to the passionate and committed individuals who want to be part of the anti-poaching solution in this country. Wildlands’ CEO, Dr Andrew Venter thanked the runners for their incredible efforts, “Without your support, the Wildlands Rhino conservation efforts would not be possible. Thank you for being part of the solution towards the Wildlands’ vision for a Sustainable Future for All.”
“A huge thanks to the Comrades Marathon Association for the opportunity to fundraise through their platform because without them, we would not be able to access funds to support our Rhino conservation work,” concluded Wildlands’ Strategic Marketing Manager, Buyi Makhoba.
WILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)