Hello [firstname],
We know that you care deeply about wildlife and wild places, and that reading the latest news about conservation issues sometimes leaves you feeling depressed. All of us at IRF have certainly experienced that feeling ourselves from time to time, as we’re constantly overwhelmed with updates on poaching losses and increasing wildlife trade. That’s why it’s so important to remember that there is hope – rhinos and other endangered species aren’t a lost cause. We recently received a wonderful letter from Natasha Anderson, Zimbabwe Rhino Monitoring Coordinator for our partner, the Lowveld Rhino Trust in Zimbabwe. As we’ve shared with you many times, Zimbabwe faces one of the largest poaching crises in the world today. And yet, as you’ll see from Natasha’s update, things can get better. With hard work and commitment, we can save these species. We hope you’ll enjoy reading this news as much as we did, and that it will inspire you just as it did us.
The successes described below were made possible by the generous support of our donors and partners. Thank you for your help – believe us, you are making a difference!
Orphaned Rhinos “Carla” & “Lisa Marie” -- Back to the Wild
“Carla” and “Lisa Marie”, two young, female black rhinos, suffered such severe injuries from poaching incidents that they required daily veterinary treatment from Lowveld Rhino Trust staff and partners. Carla was shot and orphaned in an armed poaching attack. Lisa Marie sustained a deep leg injury from a wire snare set to kill antelope for meat. After being treated for their injuries and then hand-reared, the calves were successfully released back into the wild in May 2009. (Both were two years old.) The pair remains inseparable and has established their home range around the release site.
Today it is difficult to tell these animals suffered such adversity early on in life. Now that they are living in the bush and finding their own food and water, instead of having it delivered by people, they are developing the muscular shape of wild black rhinos. Much to our relief, the pair exhibit normal rhino behaviour, and when approached by people on foot, they give a warning snort and charge off. There is always a risk with hand-raised animals that they will remain habituated to humans and seek out human company, such that they become a risk both to humans and to themselves because they may not be fearful of people. Luckily though, it seems that Carla and Lisa Marie are happily settling back into normal life as truly wild rhinos.
Poaching Losses in the Lowveld Decline Drastically After Rhino Translocations
Rhino poaching in the Lowveld is down significantly with only 6 poaching losses detected in the first half of 2010 – the total was a devastating 42 for the same period in 2009.
In May 2009, Bubiana Conservancy was completely destocked of rhinos in an effort to reduce the number of rhinos in highly vulnerable areas. In Save Valley, internal translocations were undertaken to reduce the number of rhinos living in the most vulnerable areas. After these translocations, we experienced a dramatic reduction in the rate of poaching in the Lowveld.
In addition to the translocations, there have also been some successful anti-poaching operations that have contributed significantly to keeping poaching rates down in 2010. Frustratingly though, many of the arrested poachers have recently been released by the courts after receiving insignificant fines. One well-known poacher was arrested in possession of a silenced .375 hunting rifle. Silencers are illegal in Zimbabwe and are fitted to muffle the sound of the gunshot – in this instance, to avoid being detected by anti-poaching patrols when shooting rhino. The weapon was found to have been stolen in a violent attack on an elderly couple in South Africa, not far from the Zimbabwean border. Press reports identify Johan Roos, a South African, as the key middleman in this poaching syndicate, where he provides the weapons to the poachers and takes the horn back into South Africa. Rhino poaching in South Africa has escalated dramatically with over 150 rhinos killed so far in 2010.
Baby Boom Among Translocated Rhinos!
The rhinos removed from Bubiana have successfully settled into Bubye Valley – and several females have already given birth to their first calves in Bubye! “Three” is one such cow. After witnessing her narrowly escaping poachers more than once in Bubiana, it is such a relief to see her relaxed and settled in her new home range with what is now her third calf. Her two older calves – “Thriller” (named for the experience he gives the rhino monitors) and “Thunder” (named for his behaviour in the bomas when translocated) are also both living in Bubye Valley.
A number of the Bubiana rhinos have re-joined social groupings in Bubye similar to those they maintained in Bubiana. “Rosemary” has made her home range next to her long-time Bubiana neighbour, “Marula”. Marula lives near “Siabuwa”, just as she did in Bubiana. And “Dozer” (named because he's built like a bulldozer), who was the dominant bull in the area these cows came from, has found his way back to them. These rhinos have developed new associations too. While tracking Siabuwa to check on her condition post-release, we located her with “Ring” - a black rhino cow introduced from Gourlays in 2005. Ring was with her new calf, which at the time of this sighting was only two months old.
We are still awaiting the birth of “Sinikwe’s” next calf, after her last one was tragically poached in Bubiana in February 2009. “Ulemule”, Sinikwe’s mother, also lost a calf to poaching in Bubiana, but we are expecting both cows to have new calves this year in Bubye. Young bull “Jiros” is living between Sinikwe (his sister) and Ulemule (his mother), so the survivors from this family have found their way back together in this new area.
The Lowveld rhino population at large though is not keeping us waiting in suspense for calves! We have recorded a total of 15 black rhino births in the first half of 2010, and the rest of the year should be equally as productive.
More Orphaned Calves Rescued and Hand-Reared.jpg)
In December last year, we reported that our gang of three orphans was increased to four with the arrival of “Oliver” – a ten-month-old orphan from Save Valley. His mother was killed by the same poaching gang that killed “Sassy’s” mother in Bubiana. This particular gang uses automatic weapons, and in the spray of bullets that killed his mother, young “Oli”, as he is now called, was also wounded by a bullet to the chest. He received veterinary treatment upon capture and fortunately no serious damage was found.
At ten months old, Oli was far too large to attempt to physically wrestle to force him to take milk from a bottle. Blondie Leathem (who, with his wife Katrina, have taken exceptional care of all our rhino orphans) cautiously climbed inside a pile of old tires for self-protection and offered Oli his bottle. Much to our amazement (and considerable relief), he enthusiastically started to drink.
Once Oli’s bullet wound had healed and he had settled into his new environment,
it was time to introduce him to the rest of the orphans. Within
minutes, Oli had the other three orphans walking around his pen in reverse as
he persistently advanced on his new yard mates. “Millie” and Sassy’s curiosity 
about the newcomer was quickly cured and they lost focus, leaving the much bigger “Blondie” alone and nose-to-nose with little Oli. Blondie’s” nerves gave in and he bolted back to the security of his regular yard, quickly followed by Millie and Sassy, and little Oli was left confused and alone again. Eventually the three older orphans ventured back, and the gang of four was formed.
The introduction of a fourth animal changed the social dynamics of the group and even though all four live as a group, there is a distinct pair bond between Oli and Sassy, and another between Blondie and Millie. Our four little orphans have actually grown quite big now, and within the next few days, we plan to move them back into the bush, just as we did with Carla and Lisa Marie. Please stay tuned - we hope to be sending you more good news soon!
Thank you again for all that you have done to help support these vital conservation programs.
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