Two more rhinos have joined CRCI!
- 12 hours ago
- 2 min read
An epic translocation
A growing rhino population
A number of benefits for local people
After 660 km and 17 hours of road tripping across the country, the rhinos are finally at Sanctuary 2a!
An epic road trip that started on 28 July and ended on 29 July…Through some beautiful landscapes, but very tricky roads!
Our very own Mark Butcher was on the ground following the rhinos from capture at the Malilangwe Reserve to the release into their new home at Sanctuary 2a.
The translocation process is to:
identify and find the rhinos
sedate the rhinos
trim/tip the rhino horns
for past translocations, the rhinos were then kept and monitored for a few weeks before moving...this year, they were captured, loaded and driven straight over to us!
load the rhinos into crates
transport them across the country, driving over 660km for over 17 hours
monitor the rhinos
offload the rhinos into their new community sanctuary home
The youngest rhino, number 905, was darted and loaded first. The bigger and older rhino, number 91, was then sedated and guided into his crate.
At 1.30pm on 28th July, the two rhinos began their cross-country road trip. 570km of Zimbabwe’s “tar” roads, some in more than terrible conditions…followed by 90km of dirt bush road.
Throughout their trip they were monitored and prodded to stand up if they were seen to be lying down for too long (to avoid circulation issues). They proved to be real troopers, reaching Sanctuary 2a after 17 hours on the road.
They were released into a habituation “boma”, or enclosure”, where they will spend the next few weeks getting used to their new environment before they are released into the larger sanctuary area.
Help name the rhinos!
Vote for your favourite rhino names here
Stay tuned...
...to find out how the rhinos settle in!
For more information about the Community Rhino Conservation Initiative, contact us here
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