Day 6: Rhinos and Hippos

 Our friend the hyena as a no-show again overnight, so we remain on standby....

Our mornings go amazingly efficiently; I am amazed at how smoothly 13 of us an make lunches and eat breakfast in the same small space each morning! There is lots of cooperation, no grumbling, and the group has consistently been in the van ready to leave severl minutes before our call time. Carli says she appreciates not having to constantly nag to get everyone going, and I am proud of the professionalism shown by this group. Especially since this is the youngest group, by several years, that is accepted in this program. 

A cool start tapidly warmed to a clear sunny day so typical of this time of year here--blue sky, slightest breeze, not humid, and topping out at around 80 degrees (F). A dusty drive brought us to our first work site. We were working with a different veterinarian, with the goal of darting and loading a rhino bull into a trailer for transport. After a briefing from the vet, he went up in the helicopter with Gerry, and we divided into 2 bakkies (the ubiquitous little white pickups with racks). We had hardly found our places when the helicopter hovered low and we were off to find the darted rhino. We made up quite a convoy, with 4 vehicles, since moving rhinos requires a permit and observation by the government veterinarian. It was easy to keep track of the helicopter and the vehicles, as everything sent up immense clouds of fine red dust. Once we arrived near where the rhino was down, Gerry used his helicopter's siren to signal us that it was safe for us to walk into the bush and approach. He kept watch from the air to herd any other curious rhinos away from where we were working. 

The first sight of a darted rhino is amazing. These animals are incredibly massive, and so very odd looking. This one was resting on his side, legs partially in the air, showcasing the round pads of his feet surrounded by 3 arch-shaped toenails. His hide was thick and hard, except in his flanks and under his tail, where the skin was baby soft. He was quickly blindfolded and had ear plugs placed, since we definitely did not want a sudden sight or sound to awaken him while we worked on him! We had a few minutes to examine him while the owner measured his horn and used a microchip reader to confirm his identity. It turned out that this was a smaller bull than the one that was to be transported, so we climbed back into our vehicles while his sedation was reversed and he got up and moved away. 

Darted rhino before being pushed up onto his sternum

IV catheter in an ear vein for easy administration of drugs

Microchipping the rhino's horn for permanent identification. The rhino itself has a microchip implanted behind its ear, and the horn has a chip embedded deep within it. That way, the horn can be matched to the rhino, and poached horns can be positively identified.

The second attempt was successful in darting the desired rhino bull. Once again, the helicopter hovered to help us locate him, and we drove along rough tracks to get as close to him as possible. We had to leave the way clear for the trailer to get close, because you can't carry a rhino! He would be partially re-awakened and walked into the trailer. This operation requires an expert knowledge of darting and reversal drugs, and a coordinated team effort to encourage the rhino to get into the (seemingly impossibly small) trailer. Blindofld and ear plugs were placed, and a rope loop run around his nose between his 2 horns. Once again, he had gone down on his side, so the team was used to push him up onto his sternum so he could breathe better, and an oxygen tube was placed in his nose. Because rhinos are tricky to anesthetize safely, they are typically given oxygen from a portable tank while they are down to improve their stability and survivability. Next his microchip was confirmed, hair samples taken from his tail for DNA identification confirmation, and partial reversal agents were given. Students experienced that tough hide first hand, as getting a needle through the skin into the muscle proved challenging! After allowing the reversal drugs a couple of minutes to work, the rhino was prodded and convinced to stand. At this point, a team was pulling on the rope around his nose, and everyone else was behind and beside him, pushing and guiding him towards the trailer. This works well when the rhino is feeling cooperative, but there is no pushing one who has decided to hit the brakes! Slowly and steadily, we progressed toward the trailer, then up the ramp and in. Since it is not safe for anyone to be inside the trailer with the rhino, however sedate he appears, the rope is run through the trailer and out a hole in front, so that tension can be maintained on his head to guide him without sacrificing a team member. A few final steps brought him inside, the butt bar placed across behind him, and the tricky step of removing the blindfold and ear plugs and administering the final dose of drug reversal accomplished. He remained partially sedated so that he would be calm for his trailer ride, and the trailer set off for its destination. 

Monitoring heart rate

Injecting through that tough hide

Rolling him up onto his sternum. It takes everybody!

We moved on to an adjascent property, where we met up with yet another vet to dart additional rhinos. At this place, we were dehorning females and loading up a couple of young males for transport. The first rhino was darted almost before we knew the plan, and the helicopter hovered far away over the bush. A high-speed chase of a darted rhino over dusty red tracks is quite a feat! With Jessica driving and watching the road, I was detailed to try to keep the other vehicles in sight, or at least their dust clouds. When we pulled up, the rhino cow was down very near the track, and they had already dehorned her and verified her microchip. 

Rhinos are dehorned to discourage their being killed by poachers. Since removing the horn from a conscious rhino is deadly for the poachers, and they lack access and expertise to use the extremely potent drugs that we put in darts, they shoot and kill the rino, remove its horn, and leave the carcass to rot. Often the carcass is poisoned so that any tell-tale vultures circling is kept to a minimum, as they die as they feed. When rhinos are dehorned, there is no incentive to poach them, as the "valuable" horn is missing. Rhino horns are valued in some Asian cultures as an aphrodisiac. Weird, because they consist of keratin, a protein found in hair and fingernails; perhaps we should mount a public information campaign to have its consumers chew their hair or bite their nails instead of taking rhino horn!

Her sedation was reversed and she was up and walking away within minutes.

The next rhino was a bull for transport. Once more, he went down practically on the track, giving us easy access. He was quite stable on his nasal oxygen, so we had time for some photos while he was being worked on. Once again, he was blindfolded, ear plugged, roped and partially reversed, then pushed/pulled into the trailer. The whole operation went very smoothly.

After settling the bull in the trailer with only just enough tranquilizer left to keep him calm, the vet and Gerry went up again. It wasn't long before the helicopter was hovering and we were on the chase again. Once again, the objective was to load another bull for transport. This particulare animal was a bit less cooperative than is predecessors, and went down slowly, right into the middle of a big clump of thorn bushes. Not convenient! So some team members cleared brush away as others set about the tasks of oxygen administration, sample collection, etc. This individual was the most challenging to walk to the trailer, stopping every few steps and refusing to move (giving us the effect of trying to push a building!). At last, we reached the trailer ramp and got the front feet almost in the trailer. Suddenly someone called out and all activity ceased instantly. Apparently nobody had thought to check that this was in fact a bull rhino. You guessed it: It was a cow. We had struggled, pushed, pulled, sweated, braved thorns and rocks, to get the wrong rhino to the trailer. So we allowed her to back off the trailer ramp, quickly dehorned her, and reversed her sedation. She got up and walked a short way off, then circled back as we were getting organized. Once snort from her and everybody was instantly back on their vehicle!

Rhino in a thorn patch

PUSH!!!

Since we had thought we were loading the second bull as planned, Gerry and the helicopter had been sent back to base by the time we discovered that we did not, in fact, have a bull. That meant that we were done for the day. A red-dusted run back to our van completed an amazing day of contact with these amazing creatures.

Although I deeply appreciate being able to work with Southern White Rhinos here, it always feels a little bittersweet to me. They are amazing animals, and seeing and touching them up close is absolutely awe-inspiring. But unless things change drastically, we are likely to be the last generation to ever see these creatures. If trends continue, they will be extinct in these students' lifetimes.

A 90-minute trip back to the other side of Hoedspruit gave us time to eat our lunches and admire the falsely tanned look that the red dust had imparted to us all. We had an appointment to visitn Jessica Hippo and her friend Sian, along with her 6-month-old calf. Jessica was orphaned as a newborn calf 24 years ago, and although completely free in the wild, chooses to continue to spend part of her life with her human family. This provides a very unique opportunity for us to see hippos up close. This is typically a very bad idea, as hippos can be highly aggressive, and actually kill more people each year than any other African animal including lions, leopards, elephants and rhinos! We hand-fed Jessica and Sian, and gave her her usual afternoon tea. It was amazing to feel their rubbery noses, soft clumps of whiskers, and hard-edged upper lip used to shear off plants to eat. 

A quick stop in Hoedspruit to change vans (ours needed servicing), and we were headed back to our lodge. On the way, we stopped at Three Bridges, which consists of a group of gift shops specializing in local African arts and crafts, and a restaraunt overlooking the river. We shopped and had milkshakes; everyone was hungry, as always! Then back to the lodge. Supper was baked chicken, sweet potatoes, rice, green beans, tossed salad, cole slaw and homemade bread. With a 7:30 call time for tomorrow morning, we scattered to shower away our red-dust tans and get some sleep. I had to wait a long time for my photos to upload (perhaps because I took over 800 today), so went to sleep, and got up later to update the blog when they were ready. Tomorrow we play tourist and travel the Panoramic Route. the scenery is spectacular, and there is plenty to do along the way. As we head out, we will be dropping off our suitcases of donated tetbooks and school supplies so that Jane can put them on the bus to her brother in Zimbabwe tomorrow. He should receive them by tomorrow evening. I plan to have a nice visit with Jane on our way back tomorrow evening; coordinating our schedules has been a challenge, since she has guests at the lodge she manages and we have very full days here as well. So I look forward to another gorgeous day of South African scenery and my annual reunion with my friend.