Tough love for Zim rhinos A rhino has its horns removed during the operation
A rhino has its horns removed during the operation

A rhino has its horns removed during the operation

Sydney Kawadza : Senior Features Writer

Rhinos are popular for their horns which have unfortunately led to their demise. The horns, targeted by poachers, have caused rhinos the world over to face extinction.Protecting rhinos is a mixture of love and cruelty. This threat has led to the introduction of dehorning. Dehorning started in Zimbabwe as an experimental operation in 1991 with 59 white rhinos being dehorned in the Hwange National Park.In 1992, due to the rising poaching crisis, wildlife authorities launched a dehorning programme for both black and white rhinos across Zimbabwe. The programme, in 1993, had seen 212 black and 120 white rhinos being dehorned. This marked the beginning of regular dehorning in Zimbabwe.

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is dehorning Zimbabwe’s rhino population to deter poachers. Dehorning has already been completed at Kyle Recreational Park, Chipinge Safari Area, Chivero Recreational Park and Matopos National Park.

Speaking in Matopos National Park recently, Parks senior ecologist Colum Zhuwau, described dehorning as tough love for the rhinos. “We are talking of (having) less than a thousand, for both the black and white rhinos, so these numbers are precarious,” he said.

Dehorning, he said, was a viable alternative for protecting the animals. “There is a school of thought (against dehorning) but we are here for the security of the animals. Remember this is an endangered species and we can’t leave anything to chance.”

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

Poachers, he said, target the rhino horns and dehorning deprives the poachers of their target. Dehorning was not exclusive to Zimbabwe, according to Zhuwau.

“We do not protect the rhinos as Zimbabwe alone, we do it regionally and we also do it internationally,” he said.

The motivation this year, he said, was that South Africa, where poaching is rampant, had upped its game against rhino poachers.

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

“There are high chances that the poachers are looking elsewhere and it is most probably they would be turning to Zimbabwe.”

Zimbabwe, however, has other strategies against poachers. Parks authorities work with Zimbabwe’s uniformed forces against poachers. Zhuwau said there was a deliberate rationalising of resources towards flagship animal species under threat especially rhinos and elephants. Community engagement was also effective in wildlife conservation.

“Conservation is not conservation unless we also involve the communities,” he said.

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

Engaging communities, he said, added value to Zimbabwe’s natural resources. Villagers in surrounding communities view the animals for free while they are also allowed to harvest thatching grass from the parks. Locals are also targeted for employment as an appreciation for protecting their resources.

There is also a lobby for stiffer penalties against poaching. Zimbabwe has a nine-year mandatory sentence for rhino poaching. “That it is not an easy process so we are engaging the judiciary.”

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

Kenya recently witnessed one of the stiffest punishment meted to a rhino horn trader who was jailed for 25 years.

Dehorning has, however, been shrouded in controversy. Dambari Wildlife Trust director Verity Bowman shot down the controversy. She said the process was expensive but necessary. The Trust is one of the major stakeholders in the programme.

“A recent study by Africa Geo Magazine indicated that people were not concerned with the dehorning but protecting the animals,” she said.

The rhinos, she further argued, should remain specified. “I think that the rhinos are our national treasure and that they should be preserved at all cost,” she said.

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

Outlining the procedure, Bowman said the most significant cost was the helicopter pegged at $870 per hour including fuel. It costs about $1 200 to dehorn a single rhino.

The operation includes a helicopter, fixed wing aircraft and a number of skilled personnel including veterinarians, technical assistants and rangers.

Speaking at the dehorning of an immobilised two-year-old female white rhino she said the animal would be somewhat aware of what is going on. “We have the ears plugged so that we diminish the noise and the blindfold to protect her eyes from the sun and dust,” Bowman said.

Blood samples are also collected during the procedure. “Pregnancy tests are run . . . so that the progress of that pregnancy is monitored.”

rhinoLatent diseases are also checked in the samples. The day begins with rangers, at first light, tracking down the animals and alerting the fixed wing plane. The plane, with a Parks’ spotter, monitors the animals from a high level not disturbing them at all cost. Information about the animals is relayed to the vet on the helicopter who administers an appropriate dosage to tranquillise the rhino. Because of the costs, the helicopter is only used for the darting part of the operation.

“If, for example, we have a group of three, one of the three should be targeted,” Bowman said.

The helicopter crew monitors the animal until its showing signs of slowing down. “The animals tend to run away a little bit but as the drugs take effect they slow down to a walk and then lie on the ground,” she said.

The ground crew, at this point, approaches the animal. Great care is taken in monitoring all the animal’s biological functions – the animal’s respiration, heart rate and percentage oxygen circulating in the blood at one time. “We also administer medicinal oxygen, through a nose, to improve the animal’s chance of recovery,” she said.

Young animals are also assigned individual numbers during the procedure.

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

“When they leave the mother we need to know exactly who they are and what their lineage is and so on,” Bowman explained.

Zimbabwe has a national ear notching system. This, Bowman said, allows authorities to recognise the individuals throughout their lives. “When the rangers are monitoring them they can report on specific animals at specific times,” she said.

Ear notching is followed by dehorning by chainsaw.

“The horn is then taken into custody by national parks rangers who weigh and measure the fragments. We collect all the shavings generated by the chainsaw as well and then that is kept in a secure area by national parks,” Bowman said.

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

The dehorning procedure is followed by a final check on the animal’s biological signs. “We take a final reading of its body temperature, the oxygen levels and its respiration rate,” she said.

The veterinary doctor dresses the ears and notches while Parks rangers tidy up all the shavings and pieces from the sworn off horn.

“We make sure that the animal is still doing well and then most of the assistants move away from it. Once the vet starts to give the reversal agent the animal could be up in a minute in which case they will start to move around.”

The vet, satisfied that the animal’s vital organs are working well, injects the reversal drug and the rhino is up within a minute or two. The procedure takes no more than 15 minutes. Special care is taken to have the animal back on its feet quickly.

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

“We don’t like them to stay lying down for too long because if they lie on their legs for too long they risk nerve damage.”

Effort is taken to protect the lung capacity from the weight of lying on the rhino’s abdomen and chest.

Bowman also dismissed the perceived dangers associated with dehorning. The vet, using a length of material as a guide, measures the distances for the animal’s growth plates. The rhino horn grows back hence dehorning in two to three years. The horn is made of keratin, the same substance as hair and fingernails. Young animals have good re-growth rates with the horn growing two to three centimetres within a year. This also depends on the nutrition and the area in which they live.

Parks authority spokesperson Caroline Washaya-Moyo said Zimbabwe had a number of strategies to ensure protection of flagship species. “Over the years a number of activities have been performed to protect the rhino which is poached for its horns which scientifically have been proven not to have any medicinal properties. The authority deliberately created intensive protection zones meant for the protection of rhinos. There is also cross border collaboration with our neighbours on issues to do with wildlife.”

On average, life expectancy of a rhinoceros could be as high as 50 years. This has, however, been drastically reduced due mainly to poaching. Matopos National Park, which carries the largest rhino herd, had Swazi, the white rhino, bludgeoned at 24 years. This was marked a sad moment in Zimbabwe’s history of wildlife conservation. There still is 16-year-old Tigere, currently, the largest and oldest rhino in the national park.

Zimbabwe can protect Tigere as was commended by African Wildlife Foundation president Kaddu Sebunya. Sebunya noted Zimbabwe’s efforts to protect its animals, albeit, at a cost.

Rhino horn has been used in Chinese traditional medicine for millennia and now is believed, erroneously, in Vietnam to cure both cancer and hangovers.

 

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