Latest news -
Lowveld Rhino Trust - 25 August 2009
Translocations were a success
"We undertook
17 translocations in Save Valley, to add to the 29 undertaken in Bubiana/Bubye.
The one sad death on the operation was a year-old calf that had been badly
wounded by poachers. It was amazing she had survived as long as she did and
since she was very plucky despite massive, festering injuries, we thought
there was a chance she would pull through, but despite the best efforts of
vets, Chris Foggin and Pete Morkel, she didn't make it.
It was a relief to rescue all 46 rhinos, but some deserve special mention.
Rosemary, a 7-year-old female, lost her mother, Myrtle, to poachers in
November 2008 along with Myrtle's young calf, Mint. Myrtle's calf Basil was
poached in December 2008, leaving Rosemary as Myrtle's only known offspring
surviving in Bubiana Conservancy. When our teams found Rosemary, she was
with Figtree, Marula's 4-year-old calf. Marula and Myrtle were "best
friends" and always found close to each other or "babysitting" for one
another's calves, so it is no surprise that their two offspring were
together. We also were able to move both our local big heavies - Dozer and
Ganya. Dozer had a number of new scars indicating he had been scrapping
recently with Ganya".
Recent
incident with rhino poachers - 5 August
"At the beginning of August
in the Bubye River Conservancy, one poacher was killed,
one severely wounded and captured, and one escaped. Lowveld Rhino Trust
staff were in the area but were not directly involved in the cross fire. In
the aftermath, Natasha Anderson drove the wounded poacher to the
hospital under guard by Zimbabwe Republic Police. They obtained information
from the poacher on the South African ringleader who was in the area to
collect the horns. Natasha then took the police to the border post where
they found the suspect trying to get out of the country quickly. He was
arrested and remanded into custody, but was subsequently released. Now, our
team are working to ensure that this poaching ring and related illegal
activities are exposed through investigations and in the media, and are
working hard to make sure that the appropriate information on the case is
provided to the South African authorities with the expectation that they
will be able to continue the investigation more thoroughly than the
Zimbabwean authorities". |