After a delicious meal of blood-filled ticks and earwax, I decide to take a quick snooze on the windowsill of the Long Lee Lodge. This is a 5* Edwardian hotel that the students seem to like because it has a fully stocked gift-shop in which they can spend their holiday money. A jeep full of them soon pulls up to the hotel and instantly arouses me from my soft slumber. As a number of the students appear to be shivering, I sense that they have come in to buy some warmer togs for the winter weather. My suspicions are confirmed when I spy a number of students reappear clutching olive green Shamwari fleeces. Of course the students buy a lot more than just fleeces; Zulu warrior masks, Amarula liquor and springbok shields are amongst some of the things that I spy in their shopping bags.
The students are excitedly chattering that they’re off on a game drive and because I’m still thinking of my stomach I decide that I should join them. Maybe the rangers will even know where some of the larger animals are lurking and I can quickly grab myself another meal before I head back to nest.
The jeep passes zebra, impala and warthogs on its way to the main reserve. I notice that some of the students that have been here a little longer barely bat an eyelid at these ‘common’ animals, whereas the newer students nudge each other excitedly and reach for their cameras. But then the jeep heads around a corner and the students spy two sleepy white rhino resting on the plains. My stomach rumbles excitedly, I love rhino! Not only do I enjoy feeding on their ticks, earwax and open sores but I also believe that they are incredibly interesting animals. I even know some fascinating facts about them, for example, did you know that rhino horn is made from hair and keratin, and that white rhinos can’t look up, whereas black rhinos can. Therefore if a white rhino is chasing you it’s a good idea to climb a tree or anywhere else above the height of its horn.
Shamwari has both black rhinos and white rhinos, and aside from the colour the most noticeable difference is that white rhinos have much squarer jaws than their black counterparts. Another interesting fact is that black rhinos will have their children run in front of them, whereas white rhinos will have their young run behind them.
�
The students spy a mound of rhino dung nearby and go over to the area to investigate. As rhinos tend to defecate in the same spot again and again, I can usually tell if there are any rhinos nearby based on the freshness of the dung. But Gay explains to the students that a poo mound also lets the rangers know if the rhinos are lurking nearby are male or female. This is because female rhinos tend to keep their poo mounds clean, whereas the males like to kick around their dung, which makes for an untidy toilet area.
