Posts tagged “Conservation”

Wildlife Vet Dr William Fowlds and the team at Kariega have been busy over the past week with various rhino conservation activities.

Local writer and conservationist Bart Logie shares some memories and the history of elephants in the Kariega area.

Some of our rangers recently completed their Southern Africa Field Guide exams and passed with flying colours. Congratulations to all involved!

The Kariega Conservation Volunteers had a fantastic and busy month. February is the hottest time of the year and temperatures were mostly above 30 degrees Celsius. Well done to everyone for enduring the heat and still staying enthusiastic and performing so well!

Today our thoughts go back to that dreadful day two years ago when we found our three rhinos after poachers had attacked them. We think about our unnamed bull that died during the night, the fight for survival and tragic death of Themba and the amazing recovery of Thandi.

The Kariega Conservation Volunteers were involved in 11 game releases or introductions on the reserve, as well as 11 captures and darting procedures. Read all about it here.

From January to August 2013 about 5257 invasive pine trees and 7453 invasive black wattles were removed from Kariega Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape by the Kariega Conservation Volunteers. In addition, about 4680 'miracle trees' (Spekboom) were planted!

We were happy to receive this update from Thandi's keeper, and Kariega Game Reserve operations manager Jason Loest: "She is doing fine and is calm and relaxed and although one never truly knows what an animal might be feeling I would have to say she looks quite content. She is displaying an almost inquisitive nature by..."

We received this message from Dr Fowlds this morning. Although it is sad news, we are still positive about Thandi's health and recovery and are sure that her resilience and fighting spirit will prevail. A massive thank you to Dr Fowlds for all your amazing work for Thandi, and all the very hard decisions you have had to make throughout the recovery period. We have no doubt that she could not be in better hands. Thank you too to the surgical doctors, Drs Johan Marias and Alistair Lamont, who flew up from Gauteng without charge to check on Thandi, as well as to Idexx who will be doing Thandi's blood tests. On the bright side, we will be holding thumbs that blood results will reveal she is pregnant!

Thandi the rhino at Kariega Game Reserve has undergone many surgeries and treatments since her horn was hacked off in March last year. This morning, 19 months after she was poached, the Kariega team and Thandi's doctors are preparing for what we hope will be her last treatment procedure.