Trekking southern Africa: Rhino Tagging project

Penelope and I were invited to video and photograph a Rhino tagging expedition. It was the chance of a life time so we didn't hesitate. What made this project interesting is we tracked the animal on foot through rather dense bush.

Above is our vet concocting a drug cocktail for this particular Rhino. The fact is each Vet has his own special combination of drugs. Some are for respiratory functions, muscle relaxant, etc, etc. It isn't a recipe but rather a combination depending on the animals size, sex, and age.

This is the syringe that will be placed by a very special CO2 powered gun that will deliver the needle on target at about 30 to 50 meters. That means we must get that close to the Rhino to make the the dart work effectively. The problem "IS" it takes about 10 minutes for him to go down. It feels more like an hour. If he see you and decides he doesn't like what you have done to him he make make you wish you were a lawyer instead of a vet!

This is what the dart gun looks like. There is NO BACKUP! No hunters with high powered rifles and very few places to hide. So it isn't a job for those with pace makers.

Off we go! The trackers are doing their best to get us as close as possible.

You can see the dart in his hind quarter. As soon as he was hit he ran. We had a little problem locating him in the thick cover. Pepi heard him and moved in. She was right on target. The Rhino had not yet fallen but as we approached, the animal collapsed into a drug induced sleep.

The fun is over! Now the work begins. We move his head to protect his eyes from the bush. We place Pepi's jacket under his head to be sure his eye isn't scratched from his thrashing about.

We had a small logistical problem. Our trackers took 45 minutes to find us! Oh well. It happens.

Now we need to roll over a 1,000 kg Rhino to work on his sides as well as his head. That took about ten men and a lot of puffing and grunting.

They installed an identification chip in his horn. (Some day we may all be required to have one!)
Anyway, we will now be able to identify him in the future.

Yep it works fine.

Now the tracking device is installed. Our observers will know where he is at all times. If he strays into unprotected area we can drive him back to an area less accessible to poachers.

Pepi looks more stressed than the Rhino. It was a stressful experience for all of us. The first time is when everything that can go wrong, goes wrong.

Stefan inserts the GPS tracker.

It took a few tries but he got to fit just fine.

The Rhino has been out for about 2 hours. We are finished and he is almost ready to go.

Stefan and his wife Else are from Belgium, now living is Africa. They donated the equipment for this project. They are very passionate about wildlife and super nice people. We are lucky to have them as friends.

The vet injects the antidote and the Rhino starts coming around. This is sometime the most dangerous time. Disorientated, he may charge in any direction.