It’s said that all good things come to an end, and sadly the UK Suzuki Rhino Club is next in line. Thus ends an era of pro-active support for Save the Rhino.
Our relationship began in July 2002, when Graham Scott, the intrepid boss of Mountain Media, who designed the Club’s magazine, took part in a 79-mile cycle challenge from Greenwich Park in South London to Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, home to over 20 black rhinos – not all of them pleased to see a cohort of sweaty cyclists descend on them. Despite, or perhaps because of, the saddle sores, Graham announced that he wanted to do more to help Save the Rhino, and a great relationship was established.
Like all good relationships, this has succeeded, I think, because it has been two-way. We have provided news and photos from the Chyulu Hills rhino project in Kenya for the Suzuki Rhino Club magazine. The Chyulus is not a particularly easy project to raise money for: it’s primarily about equipping rangers so that they can camp out for nights on end while looking for the elusive 12-14 rhino thought to survive in the dense thickets of the hills. It’s been great to be able to raise the profile of the project in this way.
In return, the Club has donated a percentage of the proceeds from sales of the Suzuki branded merchandise, an amazing £3,750. A thousand pounds goes a long way in the field – that’s about 65 pairs of boots for rangers, for example – and we are really grateful for this support. And all Suzuki’s leftover merchandise has now been donated to us to send out to projects in the field – caps, fleecy hats, thermal mugs and Tshirts – good morale-building gear for the rangers.
It’s a great pity that the Suzuki Rhino Club has come to an end. We will miss the exposure and the financial support. But perhaps individual members will want to remain involved with Save the Rhino – we hope they do.