46 Black rhinos moved to safer areas in Zimbabwe – 8 poachers killed

46 Black rhinos were succesfully moved to a safer region in Zimbabwe. Credit IRF.

International media coverage and pressure getting the message across
August 2009. Several months ago, in partnership with Save the Rhino, The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) launched the Crisis Zimbabwe campaign, to raise awareness about the crisis in Zimbabwe, where rhino poaching has doubled in the past year. With their resources severely strained, they asked for help to rescue rhinos and move them out of dangerous areas.

46 black rhinos saved
Thanks to great public support, IRF and their partners met their goal and raised more than $120,000 to fund emergency operations in Zimbabwe. With these funds, the team in Zimbabwe was able to move 46 critically endangered black rhinos out of areas where they were particularly vulnerable to poachers.

Individual rhinos
It was a relief to rescue all 46 rhinos, but some deserve special mention. Rosemary, a 7-year-old female, lost her mother, Myrtle, to poachers in November 2008 along with Myrtle's young calf, Mint. Myrtle's calf Basil was poached in December 2008, leaving Rosemary as Myrtle's only known offspring surviving in Bubiana Conservancy. When our teams found Rosemary, she was with Figtree, Marula's 4-year-old calf. Marula and Myrtle were "best friends" and always found close to each other or "babysitting" for one another's calves, so it is no surprise that their two offspring were together. We also were able to move both our local big heavies - Dozer and Ganya. Dozer had a number of new scars indicating he had been scrapping recently with Ganya. There was only one death on the operation - a year-old calf that had been badly wounded by poachers.

Dozer, one of the dominant bulls, is loaded onto the transportation truck. Credit IRF

Poaching Arrests Increase
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), to which Zimbabwe is a signatory, will discuss censuring Zimbabwe at its 2010 Conference of the Parties because of the country's inadequate actions to halt poaching. However, since May, eight poachers have been killed in the Lowveld during armed confrontations with police, compared to seven known rhino poaching losses.

South African ringleader
Recently in Bubye River Conservancy, one poacher was killed, one severely wounded and captured, and one escaped. Lowveld Rhino Trust staff were in the area, including Natasha Anderson and rhino monitors, but were not directly involved in the fire fight. In the aftermath, Natasha drove the wounded poacher to the hospital under guard by Zimbabwe Republic Police. They obtained information from the poacher on the South African ringleader who was in the area to collect the horns. Natasha then took the police to the border post where they found the suspect trying to get out of the country quickly. He was arrested and remanded into custody, but was subsequently released. Now, our team are working to ensure that this poaching ring and related illegal activities are exposed through investigations and in the media, and are working hard to make sure that the appropriate information on the case is provided to the South African authorities with the expectation that they will be able to continue the investigation more thoroughly than the Zimbabwean authorities.

The battle to save Zimbabwe's rhinos isn't over yet - please keep visiting the IRF website and blog for periodic updates on their efforts to protect rhinos and apprehend poachers.

Finally, Jackson Kamwi, Senior Rhino Monitor for the Lowveld Rhino Trust, was selected by the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund as a Disney Conservation Hero. This prestigious international award recognizes local people who make significant contributions to conservation in their communities. Jackson received the award in recognition of his commitment to protecting Zimbabwe's black rhinos and his heroic efforts, helping to capture and relocate nearly 1,000 rhinos over the past two decades.

Courtesy of the IRF, click here to visit the IRF website