Its hard to believe there were once fewer than 100 White Rhinoceros in the world. Today the populations are thriving thanks to one of the most successful conservation operations in history. Although no longer a threatened species, like the Black Rhino, maintaining healthy White Rhino populations are not without their challenges. Like many species on the subcontinent, White Rhino are still at threat from habitat loss which can lead to complications in their genetic variation, and health risks. Poaching is another problem and incidents are on the rise. On the Wildlands Conservation Trust’s inaugural Wild Adventure Weekend 13 guests of the Trust spent a weekend helping the Zululand Rhino Reserve implement their White Rhino Management Plan. Guests learned a bit about what it takes to manage the prehistoric creatures and helped collect data for the research and monitoring of the animals in the reserve.
Two white rhino darts were planned for the weekend, where the animals were to be notched and ‘microchipped’ and given a quick health check. “Zululand Rhino Reserve (ZRR) is renowned for its contribution to the conservation of rhino”, said the Wildlands Conservation Trust’s Sharon Fernandes. “The darting is part of their ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of these magnificent animals and their successful breeding activities. Lufthansa German Airlines has supported the Trust for years now, and this was another way they wanted to give back to conservation.” The experience, funded by Lufthansa, forms part of Wildlands’ Green Leaders programme which aims to build a generation of green leaders that take ‘green thinking’ into their work, no matter what field they might be in.
Guests arrived on Friday evening at their accommodation in the Leopard Mountain Game Lodge, in the Zululand Rhino Reserve, near Mkhuze in Northern Kwa-Zulu Natal. After a relaxing dinner and a presentation from the ZRR staff on their White Rhino Management plan, it was early to bed, and early to rise on Saturday morning in search of the first rhino. Dave Cooper, local veterinarian, managed a clean shot of a young female that the reserve trackers had located. A cloth is used to cover and protect its eyes and the ears are blocked to ensure minimal stress is caused to the animal. The conservation management team from the reserve included private vet Dr Dave Cooper, Dylan Holmes (Reserve Manager) and Karen Odendaal (Conservation Manager). The team managed the first procedure while guests looked on.
The procedure includes notching of the ear (for identification purposes) and drilling a hole in the rhino’s horn to insert the microchip. “We put a microchip in both the horns and the shoulder so if for instance one of the rhino’s is poached and they pick up the microchip in the horn at the border, they can at least link the rhino to the reserve which helps the intelligence guys figure it out”, said Karen. While the rhinos are darted we get tissue samples and then these get sent off for genetic profiling so we can then start building up a genetic database for the white rhino population in the reserve. That helps us [to do work] to improve the genetic variability of the animals in the reserve,” she said. The rhino are also sprayed for ticks and any cuts they might have.
The second rhino the team darted, on Sunday morning, was a large male and guests were able to have actual hands-on participation: one of the guests drilled the hole in the horn; another fitted the microchip; another recorded the data, and another guest sprayed for ticks, and on wounds and scratches. Guests also had a chance to do some birding and game viewing on scheduled game drives during the weekend.
Wildlands CEO, Dr Andrew Venter hosted the weekend: “These adventures allow us to give key stakeholders and supporters of the Trust a chance to have an up-close and personal experiences with some of our magnificent wildlife, and directly assisting with their conservation. We hope the experience will leave a lasting memory which will over time influence and inform behaviour so these individuals continue to make a constructive contribution to conservation as ambassadors of our natural heritage.”
WILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)