At the Selous Rhino Trust we are saying a fond and sad farewell to Friedrich Alpers, our rhino specialist and technical coordinator for the past five years.
Friedrich can only be described as a legendary bushman and rhino tracker. Recently, in one of our last forays together in the Selous, we walked up a long steep hill in prime rhino country to inspect the new repeater station at the top (a communications life saver which was largely financed by Save the Rhino International). Feet barely held into a pair of battered, open leather sandals, Friedrich seemingly glided through giraffe-high thick grasses that hid boulders strewn across the ground. Whilst I tripped and puffed at a full trot behind him, twigs and leaves snapping and crunching, he was soundless and perfectly firm of foot, just stopping now and then to point out a bush that had the characteristic browse marks left by a hungry rhino.
He once spent seven nights hanging from a tree above a waterhole and game track that had strong signs of rhino traffic. His reward was the first video footage ever to be taken of a rhino in the Selous and yet another notch in our knowledge of rhino numbers and movements in the northern sector of the Reserve.
Working with a team of rangers, through his dedicated tracking and monitoring techniques Friedrich has now proved and confirmed that there is a sustainable rhino population in the north of the Reserve, with 19 individuals identified, including several young. This is a significant achievement and impressive legacy; one that we will now build on to help ensure the rhino population continues to grow and be safe in the Selous Game Reserve.
Louisa MuirProject AdministratorSelous Rhino Trust