Lowveld Orphan rhinos - Update 30 March

Poachers target black rhino mother after killing her calf

On 16 February poachers killed a sixteen-month-old calf. The calf's mother was also shot by the same poachers but thankfully not fatally.

However the poachers are still trying to track her, but the Lowveld Rhino Trust (LRT) is monitoring her closely and hopes to move her to a safer area. The bond between cow and calf was quite strong and Sinikwe still returns to her calf's carcass regularly. Unfortunately the poachers know this, and are also returning to the carcass, hoping to track Sinikwe and shoot her again.

Early on in March the LRT monitoring unit and the Bubye Valley Conservancy anti-poaching team tracked these poachers for four out of six days. When the poachers were finally tracked down, an armed confrontation ensued as the poachers shot at the rhino monitoring team. Luckily the none of the monitoring team was harmed but the poachers escaped. However the incident seems to have deterred the poachers as they have not been seen since.

Young female black rhino killed

A young female black rhino, called “Umlali” by the Lowveld Rhino Trust monitors, was shot by poachers for her horn on March 6^th.

Umlali had already been caught twice in poachers’ snares, and the Trust’s veterinarians successfully operated on her twice to remove the snares and save her life.

The poachers used to rely on snares to entrap the rhinos, it now seems that the poachers are  increasingly switching to using guns. This is making their kill rates much higher, and also making it that much more difficult for us to rescue and treat rhinos.

Umlali had a sub-adult calf who was still living with her, and the rhino monitors and rangers are currently searching for her and hoping desperately that she was not shot also. Right, Umlali and calf during happier times

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