How to move a rhino
NAKURU, Kenya - Barely feeling the tranquiliser shot, the panic-stricken female rhinoceros ran to take shelter in a wooded area, eluding the low-flying helicopter trying to prevent her escape.
The rhino was supposed to be transferred to another park in Kenya on Saturday, but outsmarted the humans.
A few minutes later, rangers in 4x4 vehicles searched through thickets too dense for the crane truck that was meant to carry her away.
A decision was quickly made to administer the antidote to the tranquilise to prevent her from collapsing. If she fell the wrong way, she could suffocate.
The young female will therefore remain where she was born.
"The rhino is the worst one to translocate," said Taru Sheldrick, who was piloting the helicopter in Nakuru National Park in northwest Kenya, an oasis of greenery surrounding a deep blue lake.
"When you dart them, if you don't have long enough, they're running straight for thick bush, which is their security," he said.
"Whenever you're darting a rhino, you have a little bit of fear. Because it's a species in danger. Every animal is just so important."
Rhinos, which can weigh up to two tonnes, were once abundant in sub-Saharan Africa. But hunting by European colonisers and later large-scale poaching pushed them to the brink of extinction.
Race against time
The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) says there are about 28,000 left in the world, nearly 24,000 in Africa.
Kenya is home to more than 2,000 of them.
Rhinos reproduce less efficiently if too many of its kin live in the same location, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), which manages the country's parks.
Moving them is therefore important, but rhinos are vulnerable to tranquilisers that slow their breathing, increase their body temperature and affect their heart rate, said Dr Dominic Mijele from KWS.
So it is a race against time as soon as a veterinarian, aboard a helicopter, administers the drug using a dart gun.
Five to seven minutes after injection, the rhino begins to feel groggy.
Then it collapses, as AFP observed on Saturday: after the first female retreated into the bush, three other black rhinos were anaesthetised within the span of a few hours in Nakuru.
A rescue team arrived on-site within two minutes of each shot, moving like a well-oiled machine.
About a dozen caregivers surrounded the animals, spraying them with water to cool their body temperature, rolling them onto their sides to ensure their respiration was not obstructed, administering oxygen and monitoring their vital signs.
Simultaneously, several other rangers secured the animals with straps threaded through the transport cage and attached to the front bumper of a jeep.
Fifteen minutes after the rescue team's arrival, the antidote was administered.
The animal then jolted to its feet and was promptly guided into a cage, which a crane loaded onto the flatbed of a truck.
'Number one'
Mijele boasted of Kenya's unmatched expertise.
"We are number one in the world. We have done so many rhino translocations successfully," he said.
Jochen Zeitz, the owner of the private Segera Reserve, where about 20 rhinos have been relocated in the past two weeks, could not hide his relief after the latest operation.
On his 200 square kilometres of land, elephants, buffalos, lions, leopards, cheetahs and more roam freely, said the former Puma CEO and current Harley-Davidson executive.
But the reserve lacked "this iconic species" which were present up until 60 years ago in Segera, but have since disappeared.
Welcoming rhinos back is "completing the conservation work that we've done as a foundation over the last 22 years" since acquiring the land, he told AFP.
Due to the high risk of poaching for their horns, security measures had to be significantly enhanced with 100-150 new security staff, Zeitz said.
Late Saturday, a small group witnessed the release of the three rhinos from Nakuru, who had arrived in Segera after a six-hour drive.
In the dense night darkness, they listened as the metal bars of the transport cages were removed, doors creaked open, and heavy stomping accompanied by guttural growls rang out.
The rhinos had finally arrived at their new home.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
3 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Groundbreaking study finds new genes in black women causing breast cancer
Black South African women have been found to have two new genes that make them susceptible to breast cancer. Research done by the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience (SBIMB) at the Witwatersrand University found genetic factors that contribute to about 30% of breast cancer (BC) cases in South Africa. 'These genes have not been associated with the disease before, which is an important advance in understanding breast cancer risk and biology in women of African ancestry,' said Dr Mahtaab Hayat, a lead author of the study. The two new genetic variants were identified in black South African women with breast cancer enrolled in the Johannesburg Cancer Study, compared to women without cancer in the Africa Wits-INDEPTH Partnership for Genomic Research (AWI-Gen) study. Breast cancer is the second-most common cancer in South Africa and the most common cancer in women globally, with genetic factors contributing to about 30% of cases. 'Our study makes a compelling case for investing in genomic research rooted in African contexts,' said Hayat. All participants were from the Soweto region, with 2,485 population cases and 1,101 control cases. The South African BC cases and controls were well-matched and clustered, while the non-South African samples and West African populations were distinct from South African populations. The Genome-Wide Association study (Gwas), which is the first to focus on black women on the continent, was published in the journal Nature Communications. It brings to the fore the importance of deepening knowledge about the genetic basis of the disease. In the past, most breast cancer genetics research has focused on European and Asian populations, with studies of African ancestry limited primarily to African-American women, who largely descend from West African populations. A tool that estimates lifetime cancer risk based on DNA, the polygenic risk score (PRS), performed poorly in distinguishing South African women with breast cancer from those without. Dr Jean-Tristan Brandenburg, also in the SBIMB and a lead author, said this was a result of the mechanism not being tailored for the black population. 'This is because most PRSs were developed in European populations, and their inaccuracy in African populations highlights the urgent need for ancestry-specific tools in cancer risk prediction,' Brandenburg said. African populations have more genetic variation than any other population in the world, but they have been significantly underrepresented in genomic research. This means that the global understanding of disease risk and the tools and treatment developed from it are limited. 'The study reveals that more people can benefit from genetic discoveries. It proves that new risk factors are still out there, waiting to be found,' says Hayat.
The Citizen
11 hours ago
- The Citizen
SA is in the forefront of saving rhinos from poaching
Our scientists and game rangers have pioneered the technique of dehorning rhinos to make them less attractive targets for poachers. Side profile of a rhinoceros that has been dehorned to prevent poaching. Picture: iStock While it is commendable that Kenyan efforts to conserve rhino are gaining momentum, we need to disabuse Dr Dominic Mijele from the Kenya Wildlife Service that his country is 'number one in the world' when it comes to translocating rhinos. No, doc. You need to look further south to find the real experts: South Africa, after all, started the concept with the iconic 'Operation Rhino' in the 1960s, which saw around 4 000 rhino relocated from reserves in KwaZulu-Natal to other African countries where they were threatened with extinction because of hunting. Now, as worldwide poaching and the demand for rhino horn ratchets up, South Africa is still in the forefront of the fight to save these iconic animals. ALSO READ: Rhino whisperer fights poaching with drone campaign Our scientists and game rangers have pioneered the technique of dehorning rhinos to make them less attractive targets for poachers. A seven-year study in one of our major conservation areas has shown that dehorning resulting in a nearly 80% reduction in the poaching of the animals. It was also scientists from Wits University's radiation and health physics unit who came up with the idea of injecting radioactive material into live rhino horns to make them easier to detect at borders. Sounds like world-leading to us… NOW READ: 'Relentless threat to wildlife': Here's how many rhinos were poached in SA in 2025 so far
Eyewitness News
2 days ago
- Eyewitness News
How to move a rhino
NAKURU, Kenya - Barely feeling the tranquiliser shot, the panic-stricken female rhinoceros ran to take shelter in a wooded area, eluding the low-flying helicopter trying to prevent her escape. The rhino was supposed to be transferred to another park in Kenya on Saturday, but outsmarted the humans. A few minutes later, rangers in 4x4 vehicles searched through thickets too dense for the crane truck that was meant to carry her away. A decision was quickly made to administer the antidote to the tranquilise to prevent her from collapsing. If she fell the wrong way, she could suffocate. The young female will therefore remain where she was born. "The rhino is the worst one to translocate," said Taru Sheldrick, who was piloting the helicopter in Nakuru National Park in northwest Kenya, an oasis of greenery surrounding a deep blue lake. "When you dart them, if you don't have long enough, they're running straight for thick bush, which is their security," he said. "Whenever you're darting a rhino, you have a little bit of fear. Because it's a species in danger. Every animal is just so important." Rhinos, which can weigh up to two tonnes, were once abundant in sub-Saharan Africa. But hunting by European colonisers and later large-scale poaching pushed them to the brink of extinction. Race against time The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) says there are about 28,000 left in the world, nearly 24,000 in Africa. Kenya is home to more than 2,000 of them. Rhinos reproduce less efficiently if too many of its kin live in the same location, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), which manages the country's parks. Moving them is therefore important, but rhinos are vulnerable to tranquilisers that slow their breathing, increase their body temperature and affect their heart rate, said Dr Dominic Mijele from KWS. So it is a race against time as soon as a veterinarian, aboard a helicopter, administers the drug using a dart gun. Five to seven minutes after injection, the rhino begins to feel groggy. Then it collapses, as AFP observed on Saturday: after the first female retreated into the bush, three other black rhinos were anaesthetised within the span of a few hours in Nakuru. A rescue team arrived on-site within two minutes of each shot, moving like a well-oiled machine. About a dozen caregivers surrounded the animals, spraying them with water to cool their body temperature, rolling them onto their sides to ensure their respiration was not obstructed, administering oxygen and monitoring their vital signs. Simultaneously, several other rangers secured the animals with straps threaded through the transport cage and attached to the front bumper of a jeep. Fifteen minutes after the rescue team's arrival, the antidote was administered. The animal then jolted to its feet and was promptly guided into a cage, which a crane loaded onto the flatbed of a truck. 'Number one' Mijele boasted of Kenya's unmatched expertise. "We are number one in the world. We have done so many rhino translocations successfully," he said. Jochen Zeitz, the owner of the private Segera Reserve, where about 20 rhinos have been relocated in the past two weeks, could not hide his relief after the latest operation. On his 200 square kilometres of land, elephants, buffalos, lions, leopards, cheetahs and more roam freely, said the former Puma CEO and current Harley-Davidson executive. But the reserve lacked "this iconic species" which were present up until 60 years ago in Segera, but have since disappeared. Welcoming rhinos back is "completing the conservation work that we've done as a foundation over the last 22 years" since acquiring the land, he told AFP. Due to the high risk of poaching for their horns, security measures had to be significantly enhanced with 100-150 new security staff, Zeitz said. Late Saturday, a small group witnessed the release of the three rhinos from Nakuru, who had arrived in Segera after a six-hour drive. In the dense night darkness, they listened as the metal bars of the transport cages were removed, doors creaked open, and heavy stomping accompanied by guttural growls rang out. The rhinos had finally arrived at their new home.
