Save the Rhino on your Wildlife Conservation Holidays

In June, along with some students on their wildlife conservation holidays, I attended a talk at Shamwari Game Reserve given by a ranger about the emergency response situation that rangers must abide to when they hear news of a possible poacher. The talk came after an incident in December when a rhino was poached at the reserve, but the thieves failed to make off with its horn. This incident posed some difficult questions that the students were encouraged to answer should the staff sell the horn and use the money to fund conservation at Shamwari? Probably not, although the sale would have given the reserve a boost in revenue, it would have created demand for a product that the staff were very much against the sale of.

Shamwari’s poach was believed to be the work of a national syndicate, which has slaughtered many rhinos in Kruger and the Limpopo provinces. However, with a national syndicate of rhino poachers now aware that the poachers hadn’t managed to make off with the horn, keeping the horn at Shamwari just wasn’t an option. The rangers at Shamwari disposed of the horn immediately and made sure all the news crews were aware that the horn was no longer on their grounds. Since the attack, Shamwari’s anti-poaching unit has really grown and the team makes regular patrols of the area an experience that we recommend our students try out during their stay.

Anti-poaching controls are just one way that our conservation volunteers can get involved in the rhino conservation. Shamwari students also take part in regular game counts and monitoring sessions. During these activities they are encouraged to search for signs of nearby rhinos, from fresh rhino mounds to, if they’re exceptionally lucky, the tell-tale sign of a horn poking through the long grass. This allows us to ascertain exactly which part of the reserve the rhinos are currently grazing in; information that we then use to feed back to the anti-poaching unit.