Wednesday 17 October 2012

Private enterprise to help with South Africa's rhino poaching problem?


Protecting the rhinos at Rietvlei Nature Reserve
October 2012. Rietvlei Nature Reserve lies on the southern edge of Pretoria, and came into existence in the 1930's  to supply the local residents with clean drinking water. A portion of the catchment area of the dam (including the dam) was proclaimed and is being managed as a Nature Reserve.
Ten white rhinos currently live in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve, but because Rietvlei is a large reserve of over 4000Ha, monitoring and protecting the safety of the rhinos is difficult. For this reason, the reserve has set up heavy-duty security features, including base stations and security towers to monitor the creatures constantly. They have also begun to tag the rhinos to keep track of them, but this can be costly, so local car dealer, Imperial Select, has agreed to sponsor a programme of protection to keep them safe from poachers. Imperial Select will be giving financial support towards these security operations.
Tracking devices
At present, two of the resident rhinos have been fitted with transmitters as a trial, and the rest are soon to follow. The devices are able to send a signal, allowing the animals' movements to be tracked and for quick identification purposes. The transmitters also send a distress signal if the movements seem irregular or abnormal. The trial was a resounding success with the two rhinos returning to normal life at the park with 100%health after the insertion of the transmitters. Both rhino were darted so that they fell asleep, and their horns were drilled with small holes to fit the transmitters. 3000 "microdots" were placed into each hole, which were then sealed by a monitoring device.
With increased security and tagging at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, the rhinos will have a better chance against the lethal actions of poachers. With the situation becoming as dire and desperate as it is today, rhino security is an absolute necessity.

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