RHINO
into a crate on the truck before waking it up with an antidote.
16.The truck must now drive – not too fast but not too slow
– many kilometres to get to a pre-prepared boma in which
the rhino will take a break for a few weeks and get used to
food specially brought for it from its destination.
17.When he/she is judged ready, he/she is once again placed
in a crate on a truck and driven across the border, where the
crate is then placed on a Botswana Air Force Hercules C130
and flown to a dusty airstrip in the middle of the Delta.
18.Here, the aircraft lands, and the rhino is placed into
another boma where he/she has a chance to settle down and
get used to the weather, the food etc.
19.After a suitable amount of time, the gate of the boma is
opened and everyone watches with awe as the rhino, blinking blearily at its new surrounds, takes a few steps into his/
her new home.
20.Now, do this again. And again, until you have them all there.
the Wilderness Wildlife Trust, the company’s non-profit
fundraising vehicle and negotiations began between not two
but three countries – Botswana, South Africa and
Zimbabwe. These, as you can imagine, were delicate and
had many setbacks, but finally, in May 2014, the first black
rhino were moved.
The results have been inspiring and thrilling. Over 14
months, some eight translocations have taken place –
constituting the largest cross-border translocation of black
rhino in the history of conservation – and some 1% of the
global black rhino population is now safe in Botswana.
*No figures can be publicised so as to keep the rhino safe. Sorry.
HOW TO MOVE A RHINO IN 20 EASY STEPS
It’s not easy moving a rhino though. Here’s a rough guide
(but don’t try this at home):
1. First, make sure the place you’d like to host your rhino is
ecologically suitable, with all the climate, vegetation, water,
and other requirements met. In addition, check that rhino
have occurred here historically.
2. Make sure it is well protected, has anti-poaching units in
place, and that the legislation of the country supports this
protection.
3.Create a top rhino tracking and monitoring unit.
4.Obtain the support and cooperation of the government,
provincial governments, Department of Wildlife and
Environment, National Parks, Game Reserves and
Conservancies involved.
5.Make sure you have all the capture equipment: crates and
trucks to transport the animals, helicopter, satellite transmitters (to be inserted into the horn), medical kits (with darts,
sedation drugs, stuff to take blood samples etc.).
6.Hire a top wildlife vet for darting etc.
7.Fundraise for the money to do all the above so you ca