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Rhino Project Trip Report - Black Rhino Conservation Africa Newsletters » Mar/Apr 2006 » Rhino Project Trip Report 5 Day - Rhino Conservancy Trip from Victoria Falls (20th - 25th November 2005) Read more about our Antelope Park volunteers who visited the Rhino Conservancy in November. Within the 150,000acre Rhino Conservancy is a plethora of game, and of course the many humble beasts that roam free within this sanctuary. A bit of History: Just outside the town of Kwekwe in the Zimbabwe Midlands, we find the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy. This land consists of 150,000 acres that is home to a variety of animals and their habitats. With this conservancy the landowners have teamed up to monitor and protect the wildlife of this area with a strong focus being placed on Black Rhino Conservation in Africa. Unfortunately at the moment the conservancy is riddled with poachers. Worst effected are the conservancy’s protected endangered Black Rhino for their much sought after horns. The horn is seen as an aphrodisiac in some cultures and is made into dagger handles as a testimony of bravery and manhood. It is also used for other medicinal purposes. Rhino horn was said to have been more valuable than gold in some parts of the world. Poaching has become a serious issue with some incidences happening under the noses of the people protecting the rhino and there is not enough manpower to control such situations. As a result African Impact has been called upon to assist the conservators in their very important cause: Black Rhino Conservation in Africa. The conservancy has a population of approximately 40 rhino, 15 of which are ear notched and implanted with radio monitors. Already 1 of these 15 rhino has been killed for its horn. A rhino horn can fetch up to USD$150,000, even after the rhino has been de-horned by National Parks. All of the Rhino on the conservancy that have been implanted with the radio monitors are also being DNA tested in South Africa. The DNA testing will determine their family lineage as some of the Rhino’s who were born on the property have unknown parents. A Few Facts: The Rhino is on Appendix 1 list. This means it’s highly endangered and an animal that is protected by the government and National Parks. Rhino’s can live up to 45 years of age. Black Rhino have a wider territory because of the area needed to cover for browsing; the food that they require is also very sparse. Black Rhino scatter their dung to mark their territory. Black & White Rhino can live peacefully together; Keith witnessed black and white rhino together under a tree. Both Black and White Rhino are poached, there is no preference. Black is more rare because in the early 90’s when poaching soared they were spread through out the country making them accessible to all poachers, whereas White Rhino were in a concentrated area. Once the horn is cut off it will grow approx 3cm each year. The horn is like our fingernail; its cuticle is at the base of the horn and head. The rhino cow kept a safe distance Planning the route Following the signal Our Experience: Black Rhino Conservation Africa Day 1 Arriving around 12:00pm we immediately where blown away by the views. No photo could do it justice; it was paradise, just perfect. After having a quick lunch we went on a short familiarization drive to the common rocky hills where Keith (Monitoring Manager and now Volunteer Project Leader) showed us the amazing views. This was one of the points where they would use their monitors to locate the Rhino. In the evening we were briefed on what to expect in the next few days; we had to be up at 5am and leave by 6am every morning (the earlier the better as the drives are an hour if not longer to designated areas). Keith was in search of Don the oldest bull, Baba Makuru Don’s predecessor, the local White Rhino, Dipstick, Chido and any other Rhino’s on the Conservancy. Day 2 We left at 6:00am and headed to Circle ‘G’ for Baba Makuru. We drove for almost 2 hours before getting as close as possible with the monitoring machine. Here we disembarked and walked for another hour before Drew (volunteer) saw Baba Makuru staring straight at us no more that 10 meters away! We shot to the ground and stayed extremely still, Baba Makuru knew we were there as he turned 3 times before finally running away. This was very nerve racking for a first time experience with an extremely wild and dangerous animal. Keith was satisfied with his health and was happy to find him in the same area where they darted him, also his implant was giving Keith trouble as it seemed to malfunction occasionally so he needed to be watched closely. Baba Makuru is the predecessor of Don, the oldest bull in the conservancy. He came from the Zambezi Valley when he was 6 years old, he is now 20. Day 3 We headed for the Dyke, the central mountainous area stretching right through the Conservancy. This is where most monitoring is done as it gives you a 360 degree view of the land and is easy to pick up any Rhino signals. There is a permanent scout in the area monitoring all Rhino’s and on a daily basis the scout raidos Keith and other Team Members on the movements of each Rhino. After recording the position of all the animals we headed back down the mountain to find the poached Rhino’s that Keith wanted to have a good look at and record. We drove for 45 minutes before we spotted the carcass which was not far off the road. Kabanga was an 8-year-old male shot 8 time and killed in Oct ’05, a month ago. It seemed fresh yet so unbelievable, we all stood there for a moment trying to picture the horrific event that took place. The picture below shows you the huge gash poaches leave where horns use to be. You could also see the marks on the head where an axe must have been used to ruthlessly hack at the horn, this is an unbelievable tragedy that happened no more that a month ago. Watching this animal made us aware the seriousness of poaching. What topped it off is Kabanga had an implant and was spotted by the Conservancy Team two days before he was poached. We then drove for about 10 minutes before we got to another poached Rhino this time it was a 4 year old female killed Oct ’04 she wasn’t implanted and at that stage didn’t have a name as she was one of the Rhino’s not yet identified. Leaving the area gave us an understanding and a respect for these animals. It was a very sad morning. Day 4 Today we were tracking Dipstick, we picked up his signal 3kms from the vehicle then tracked him by foot for another 4kms. Because of the constant wind change he picked up our scent and kept running further and further away. After 2 hours of searching we decided to track him another day. Keith explained that this usually happens mid morning and afternoon, wind will change constantly and tracking can be a nightmare. His favourite time to find Rhino is early morning and late in the afternoon. Dipstick is one of the first calves born in the Conservancy, he is 16 years of age and his mother is unknown. In the afternoon we headed for Cirlce ‘G’ Dam were scouts and National Parks spotted Don a.k.a. The Don. Don is 38 years of age who had retired from reigning the area, he has full time armed National Park scouts guarding him as he is the oldest Rhino on the Conservancy. Don is permanently de-horned which won’t grow because of him old age. When we approached the area we saw him bathing in the Chinyika River north of the Dam. As we approach him he picked up our scent and immediately ran out of the river where he stopped and watched us. This was very terrifying as we where quite close and in exposed ground but knowing Keith was there made us relax. We watched Don for a while and there were a couple of snorts of warning but no charge. We eventually left him, we noticed his ribs were showing but Keith said that he had picked up condition and was satisfied with this health. Day 5 Here we tracked and found Chido a 3 year old cow who hasn’t been seen since July ’05 as she has been severely traumatised from her mother’s death. Chido’s mother was viciously killed by poaches for her horn’s and from our understanding Chido was there for the tragedy. It was very difficult to see her as she was well hidden in the bush, she knew we were there and kept her eye’s on us. Keith was happy to have seen her alive and in good health. The scout that had found her was to keep an eye on her movement.   Scouting for the rhino Chido Volunteers - Amanda Smith,Jeniffer Graillot, John Sullivan, Andrew Saye Visit the Black Rhino Conservation Africa Project page for more information on how to volunteer at this worthwhile Africa volunteer project. Jambo - Hello from Milena! 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