THREE ORPHANED RHINOS RELEASED INTO THE WILD
Wild Tomorrow Fund was honoured to play a small but meaningful role in the release of 3 rhino orphans – Khula, Bhanoyi, and Zimisele - from Zululand Rhino Orphanage back into the wild. Read the story below for more information on the rehabilitation and release process of these rhino orphans.
Khula, Bhanoyi, and Zimisele enjoying their new “wild” life. Location undisclosed.
Rhino poaching has quickly become the number one threat for rhinos in South Africa. Today, the White Rhino is listed as ‘Near Threatened’ and the Black Rhino is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’. According to stoprhinopoaching.com, there are just over 15,600 white rhinos and a shocking 2,046 black rhinos left in South Africa.
In the fight to save this species, each individual rhino counts.
Jabu Nkosi, one of Zululand Rhino Orphanage’s hardworking animal carers feeding the newest rhino orphan, Leko.
Young rhinos, helpless and now orphaned, are often left next to their dead mother after she has been poached for her horn. The lucky ones are spotted by ground crew, anti-poaching units, or aerial surveillance, and brought to care at one of the rhino orphanages in South Africa. Zululand Rhino Orphanage (ZRO), supported by Helping Rhinos, is the only dedicated rhino orphanage in the region of KwaZulu-Natal. ZRO has a passionate team working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to ensure the safety and wellbeing of rhino orphans.
Time, commitment, and dedication are needed for the successful rehabilitation of an orphaned rhino calf. From the day they arrive, vulnerable and weak, to the day they are finally released and rewilded, resilient and strong, the ZRO team is there every step of the way in an extensive rehabilitation program. Having suffered high levels of stress and trauma from losing their mother, it is important to remember that these are exceptionally compromised animals.
These calves spend 3-5 years calling ZRO home in the rehabilitation phase. Through the rehabilitation process, individual rhinos are introduced to others of similar age to form a “crash”, or group, of rhinos. This is an important step in their development to not only learn to interact with others of their own species but to also ensure a safe and successful release into the wild.
Khula, having arrived at ZRO in 2017 at a mere 3 days old, has formed a nursery creche with Bhanoyi, who arrived at ZRO at 4 months old in 2018, and Zimisele, who arrived at ZRO in 2020 at 6 months old. All with different backgrounds and from different reserves – some losing their mothers to poaching, others to natural causes – the 3 rhinos have come together to provide a successful release story!
When the team at Zululand Rhino Orphanage reached out to Wild Tomorrow Fund to assist with the darting, dehorning, notching, and collaring of these 3 miracle animals in preparation for their release into the wild, we were thrilled to step in!
The Wild Tomorrow Fund November Conservation Experience group got to lend a helping hand and assist with horn measurements, ear notching, horn pod gluing, and more for rhinos Khula, Bhanoyi, and Zimisele.
Watch the video below created by John O’Sullivan about the day’s events.
November volunteer, Sophie Mercuris, helping out with horn measurements.
Video filmed and created by John O’Sullivan.
Because, post release, these rhinos need to be monitored to record behavioural patterns and health, they were each fitted with a GPS collar around their foot as well as a special horn pod tracker. This was glued to where their horn previously was. The horn pod tracker is a relatively new monitoring technique that has proven to be more effective and reliable than the foot trackers. Using VHF telemetry and GPS coordinates to locate the rhinos, this allows them to be monitored daily and more accurately to check their well-being post-release.
Khula, Bhanoyi, and Zimisele settled nicely in the wild.
The three rewilded rhinos have been reported to be successfully adapting to their new environment in the wild. Thank you to those who have supported our Orphan Rhino Support Program, if you’d like to make a difference in support orphaned rhinos, donate below!
