Two
of the more intriguing collective name's for a mammal are for the
rhinoceros, i.e. (1) a crash, or (2) a stubbornness.
I
have always rather fancied the term “crash”. It conjures up a
wonderful mind-picture of the probable consequences of running,
accidentally of course, full tilt into two or more rhinos.
When
one sees a fully grown white (aka square-lipped) rhinoceros “in the
flesh”, then the term “stubborn” also becomes a lot more
imaginable.......
Most
of you reading this blog posting are probably aware of the viciously
cruel and highly illegal war currently being waged against the rhino
– all for the sake of unproven, traditional medicines – the power
of belief..........
I'm
not going to go in that direction right here, but at the bottom of
this posting I've provided a couple of links for those of you who would
wish to know a bit more about what's happening in that space.
The
main purpose of this particular posting is to share with you, via
some of my favourite photos, the magnificence of these prehistoric
looking creatures.
In
Southern Africa we have both the White (Square-lipped) Rhino and the
Black (Hook-lipped) Rhino. Nothing to do with their colour – they
are both dark grey when seen “clean” of any mud or dust. But they
are quite different species - one eats grass, the other leaves &
twigs; one's a lot bigger, the other more the size of a buffalo; the
white tends to be more placid, the black more nervous and/or
aggressive.... the list goes on....
Only
a hundred years ago the White Rhino was on the brink of extinction
and up until quite recently the rhino most likely to be seen in the
wild was the Black Rhino. That situation has switched quite
dramatically in the last 30 years. Incredible conservation efforts in
South Africa brought the White rhino back, off the endangered list.
Now, most of us who spend a lot of time in the bush, get VERY excited
when we see Black rhino.
That's
one reason why I decided to post about the rhino this week. My
clients and I had an unusually great, “once in a lifetime”, sighting of a Black
rhino last week and I wanted to share those photos plus a few more.....
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| That Black Rhino |
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| "Once in a lifetime" sighting - Black Rhino drinking at a waterhole |
We definitely see the White Rhino more often, many times in a "crash"........
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| Wallowing - a favourite pastime |
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| White Rhino |
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| Black Rhino |
Footnotes:-
- Please note that I have carefully selected and edited the photos for this posting, not just for the rhino “story”, but also so that the rhino locations cannot be readily identified by potential illegal hunters / poachers.
- Related links / articles on the rhino "war":-a) National Geographic Rhino Wars
b) The latest statistics from National Parks Sanparks news
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| Two White Rhino males "facing off" |
7 comments:
Beautiful photos of the rhino. I'm always thrown by the names "Black" and "White" though because they are not those colours as you say. I do love all of nature (from a respectful distance) and I'm so glad that there are some people who try to protect different species from extinction. .
Great images Sue - although there are many Rhino in Etosha, I've only seen them a few times ...
... there's much I'd like to say about poachers and the superstitious fools who think Rhino Horn is an aphrodisiac but, it's all bad so I'll bite my tongue ...
Thanks for commenting Penny, Graham.
Yes there is a lot of effort being put into protecting the rhino right now but the sad reality is that there is more money being spent on the traditional "medicine" using rhino horn than there is available at the front end to realistically protect the rhino.......
My views on the whole subject are a little controversial so I will not air them on this blog:)
What's not in doubt is that the poaching is mostly extremely cruel and the traditional medicine has not been scientifically proven to cure cancer or anything else.......
I think all you CAN do is educate the young and bring about change in the next generation - I don't think you'll ever change the minds of the current rhino horn users.
I like learning about them, but from a very respectful distance, thank you!
Caroline
Hi Coral .. thanks for posting the details and the photos - we definitely need to do what we can to conserve them.
I 'met' one in a donga in Hluhluwe-Umfoloze Game Reserve about 25 years ago .. I had to do a three point turn in the donga - as it was not going to get off the ditched road .. I was glad I was a good driver and didn't panic (much) .. it was about six or seven point turn - I needed to go forwards - couldn't trust myself to go backwards!
Well done on editing the photos .. cheers Hilary
hello Hilary,
I laughed at the mind picture of your 7 point turn in a donga. I wouldn't like to reverse out of one either!
It's difficult to imagine how big a rhino really is until you meet one up close like that.
In Hluhluwe rhino's tend to allow cars to get much closer than in Kruger, and in recent months I have found it quite difficult to even get distant sightings of rhino, sadly.....
@Caroline, apologies for not replying to your comment sooner..
I certainly agree with you on the education aspect.
I have had friends who have had very funny (after the event) but terrifying encounters with Black Rhino, so I also give them a very respectful distance!
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