A breach in the Circle of Life

27 January 2012

This is not a new story, we have heard it all too often over the last couple of months, extreme cruelty to defenceless animals. Earlier this month the 4th rhino was poached from the Madikwe Game reserve. This report below from Declan Hofmeyer – Operations manager of the Madikwe Reserve brought a tear to my eye…

“With his legs tucked under him and the cool rain pouring down onto his back, washing the mud from his recent wallowing off his skin, the adult bull white rhino I was watching could have been a scene of tranquillity in Madikwe on Sunday morning.

Sadly the pink blood bubbling out of a hole in his side, the danger tape around the wallow, his slashed eyes, missing tail and most obviously the maggots dripping like thick paint from the gaping wounds in his head where his horns used to be told a very different and very sad story... this was not a scene of bush veld tranquillity but instead the scene of the latest murder perpetuated in the name of greed and myth against the worlds rhino population.

Madikwe had its fourth recorded rhino poaching between the evening of Friday the 13th January and Saturday the 14th. Thankfully the murderers aim was true and the bull seemed to have died very quickly after the .375 round punctured his heart, spiralled back around his left lung, along his ribs and into his stomach. Thankfully he was probably dead when they mutilated his eyes in superstition that he will know them in the afterlife and thankfully he was probably dead when they cut into his skull exposing his sinuses to the no doubt ever present buzzing blue flies flying upwind into the scent of fresh blood.

The rhino poaching continues but although at least 25 rhino have been recorded poached already this year in South Africa there have been some successes.

Aside from the much publicized shoot out and arrests in the Kruger National Park there have also been nine suspects arrested in two provinces, three horns recovered, four firearms and two vehicles confiscated and new leads are being pursued as you read this. In Madikwe we are getting massive support from investors allowing for new training and equipping of field rangers, the R.A.T.S. and H.O.s continue to contribute daily and useful information is being collated.

Remember that this remains our home and the rhinos of Madikwe share our home with us. Criminals are unwelcome in our home as are people who harbor or work with criminals and they should expect no mercy from us. Please pass on any information which may lead to arrests and convictions. All information is treated confidentially and a reward may be applicable if a conviction is attained.

With that in mind I urge managers to speak to junior staff and pass this message on.
In the words of General George S. Patton: “Armies don’t win wars. Soldiers win wars.”

Whether the presence of rhinos in Madikwe is important to you for aesthetic, financial, esoteric, biological or other reasons we need them and they need us. For that reason every single one of us is a soldier in this war and can contribute in some way. Please keep that in mind when next you watch the unassuming and innocent rhino as it grazes past your vehicle or rests under a Shepherds tree. Then close your eyes... and just like that… its gone...  “

In an update to this story, this week a decision was made to relocate our remaining rhinos to private areas with high security, where they can be closely monitored and protected, further illustrating the commitment of the Madikwe reserve to protect it’s Rhinos while the debate rages on, with regard to how Government and the private sector can engage to resolve this ever escalating problem.
 
 

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