My first time working with rhinos was in 2019. I had the opportunity to aid in horn devaluation with the Rhino Rescue Project. I was especially intrigued by the horn devaluation concept. This was the first I had heard of the concept of injecting ectoparasiticides and dyes into the horn. The devaluation process takes the value of the horn away in hopes of preventing poachers from seeking out the horn to begin with. In addition, the process will devalue the horn for 3-4 years. I knew that the poaching of rhinos was a big problem, but I thought that the only mean of prevention was to dehorn the rhinos. It was a completely different experience from what I was expecting due to the publicity of the affair. Normally, when working with high stakes animals such as rhinos, you are not allowed to post or take pictures with location information due to fear of poachers coming for the rhinos. However, after devaluation, they wanted to advertise the process so poachers would know not to try and poach those rhinos. I was incredibly happy to see an alternative to dehorning that both protects the rhino and allows them to continue to use their horns.
A week later, I had the opportunity to work with rhinos from a sanctuary perspective. In the first afternoon we arrived at Khama Rhino Sanctuary, we immediately began working with a rhino calf and cow. We had spilt into groups, but that dissolved almost as soon as we began working on the animals. As we approached the mom and noticed that she started to feel the sedation, we jumped off the moving vehicle and ran towards the rhino. As soon as we got to the rhino, we put a blindfold on it and made sure that the breathing was steady while waiting for everyone else to arrive. We immediately began giving injections, attaching the collar, and providing oxygen. I didn’t realize how sturdy the collar was until I had to attach it. In addition, it was secured very tightly by a metal plate and screws. We also took hair and blood samples and notched the ears for identification. By the time the team on the mother rhino had finished, the baby rhino was almost done as well. Once both rhinos were up, they were close enough to each other to be able to reunite on their own.
Fast forward to 2023, when I had the opportunity to go back to South Africa and work with rhinos after years. To my dismay, I found out that the South African government had blocked the use of horn devaluation as a mean to protect the rhinos. Conspiracy theories aside, this makes it more difficult to ensure that the rhinos will be free from poaching. This time, we worked with a game reserve to place microchips and trackers inside the horns. This would ensure that, if the horns were removed, at least the microchip could possibly be tracked to bring the poachers to justice.
Unfortunately, it has become increasingly difficult to prevent poaching within South Africa due to corruption within the government and officials turning a blind eye to the matter. It is our job as veterinary professionals to not only aid in the conservation and healthcare of wildlife on the ground, but also raise awareness of these issue in hopes of preventing future poaching incidents from occurring.
Written by: Nitika Sansgiry
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