Monitoring number 251

    Since I last wrote, the poaching threat has continued at a high level with as many as three groups of poachers known to be operating at one time. After the contact on the Botswana border we have also had a contact at Tshakabika in which five Zambian poachers were located. They had stopped to rest but cleverly they were sitting on the edge of some bush at the end of a clearing and they saw rangers who were following their spoor and fled. Unfortunately none of them was captured but they abandoned a lot of their equipment including a great deal of food and parts of a rifle so they will not be able to continue in the field.

   Today Robins Camp rangers also had a contact with poachers, thought to be the same ones that were surprised at Tshakabika. At the time of writing I don’t know if any were captured.

   Meanwhile Sinamatella rangers have been following spoor of a group of poachers for the past three days. Yesterday they got very close, finding a still-warm fire where the poachers had cooked a meal then later finding fresh signs that they had killed a warthog. Unfortunately rain late in the afternoon washed out the spoor and the rangers had to start all over again this morning.

    With all of this going on, I have been spending the days monitoring rhino number 251 who is, we think, very vulnerable because he is living in the same area the poachers have been searching. Two days ago we found him in such thick bush that I never actually saw him all day. It was the same yesterday and for most of today. Monitoring a patch of bush with a sleeping rhino somewhere inside it can be pretty boring but today was enlivened by a giraffe who didn’t detect us until he was very close.

   Even when he eventually smelt us he wasn’t at all sure where we were and simply ambled away looking puzzled.

    Late in the afternoon the rhino woke up and came towards us, feeding occasionally if he saw anything that looked tasty. We moved parallel to him with the wind in our favour and I eventually saw him for the first time in three days.

    He was so engrossed in feeding that we had a bit of time to try to set up a photo – Bigson in the foreground and the rhino behind.  

  The rhino is that little grey blob by Bigson’s hand. No photographic prizes here!

     

   Two days later……..

  Well nothing much has changed in the past days. No sign of active poaching gangs but we have continued monitoring number 251. He always seems to be in the very thickest of cover where he is difficult to follow.

 

  Moving through places like this certainly gets the adrenaline flowing.

  Yesterday I was out with Prosper Chikande and ‘Major’ Mbewe.

      Another poor photo I'm afraid. Prosper and "Major", bottom right, with telemetry!

      It took us just over seven hours to find the rhino and then we came upon him so suddenly and were so close that he mock charged before turning and running. Mbewe, who was hospitalized after the rhino attack last June was a little shaken to be subjected to a charge at close range again but, to his credit, he stood his ground and will no doubt be on patrol again tomorrow!

New Year

   We spent Christmas and New Year at home in Bulawayo with our family.

   We returned to Sinamatella to find that the rains have apparently deserted us already and a lot of the pans and springs are starting to become pretty dry. There’s no need for worry just yet as the rainy season has a long way to go and I’m sure we will have plenty of rain before it ends.

  We had visitors staying with us last week. Aurelie, who has been with us before as a volunteer, brought her partner Rafael to see Zimbabwe and they spent three days at Sinamatella relaxing after a tough 2011 at home in France.

Another very welcome visitor was Trevor, who spent a couple of days with us planning the year ahead. We found time to go out and check on the pump at Bumboosie South and saw some wild dogs at Salt Spring on the way.

The pan at Bumboosie South is by no means full.

But the solar pump is working well and keeping the trough full.

We  also went to Tshakabika Hot Spring. The photo shows how dry the surrounding countryside is considering the time of year

But there’s still long grass in places…..

   While these various visitors have been with us there have also been less welcome visitors in the area. Spoor of five poachers was detected heading in our direction last week through the Robins camp area. Thanks to the transmitters fitted to many of the rhino last year our Rangers are able to try to protect them by locating them every day. One or two of the rhino don’t seem to understand that we are on their side. Number 87 (“Major”) who attacked us back in June last year charged a group of rangers on Saturday, injuring one of them slightly. Number 251 has also proved a problem, wandering such large distances each day that he is very hard to find. We located him today with a mobile team and will be looking for him again tomorrow as the poachers are almost certainly still in the area, taking advantage of the full moon to move around at night as well as by day.

   It isn’t only the rhino that are being difficult. Ranger Richard Ndlovu was bitten by a cobra in early December and has been in hospital ever since. He is slowly recovering. Thinkwell Nyathi also had a run-in with a snake, being spat in the eye by a Spitting Cobra. Luckily he had access to water and immediately washed the venom out so he has recovered fully.

   Finally, whatever other New Year resolutions Sue made, she clearly didn’t resolve to stop taking photos of sunset and sunrise. Here’s her latest addition to our already huge collection – Sinamatella sunrise, 5.48 am, 9 January 2012. Worth waking up early for…..

UPDATE......This post was delayed by an internet connection problem. Since I wrote it the group of poachers I mentioned turned back, strayed into Botswana and was intercepted by the Botswana Defence Force. Unfortunately that wasn't the end of poaching for the season. Another group of Zambians was detected by Sinamatella rangers near Tshakabika this morning and they ran away, abandoning all their equipment. Yet another group has also been detected in the area (by their spoor) and the rangers are tracking them. As far as we know at this stage, no rhino have been killed.