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White Rhino Project
During the latter part of the
20th Century the African rhinoceroses came close to extinction, the main reason being the
enormous value placed upon their horns which are in high demand in the black market for
use in Eastern fever-reducing medicines and traditional Yemenite dagger handles. The
demand for rhino horn has led to mass hunting and poaching of rhinos throughout Africa.
 Two
different species of rhinos exist in Africa: the white or square lipped rhino, Ceratotherium
simum, and the black, or hooked lipped rhino, Diceros bicornis. The white rhino
is larger, more social, and less temperamental but, weighing in at over 2000kg, is a
creature to be treated with great respect.
With the birth of three baby rhinos, Mokolodi's
herd of nine represents more than a third of Botswana's White Rhino population.
Ancient 'rhino rubbing
stones' show that Mokolodi was home to these magnificent creatures long before the present
rhinos were reintroduced.
Mokolodi's white rhino breeding programme is aimed at eventual reintroduction of the species to all parts of Botswana. Since the inception of the project, Mokolodi has so far successfully trans-located six rhinos to two different parts of the country. The first translocation was done in September 2001, with three rhinos being captured and relocated to Mombo Camp, in Moremi Game Reserve. This was the first re-introduction of white rhino from a breeding sanctuary in Botswana into the Okavango - a milestone in Botswana's white rhino conservation effort. And more recently the second translocation was undertaken in September 2006, when another three rhinos (two sub-adult males and one female) were trans-located to the Limpopo Lipadi area in Tuli Block, found on the eastern side of Botswana. Here they joined three other rhino from Khama Rhino Sanctuary to form part of the new nucleus population in the area. While in Tuli Block, these rhinos have been reported to be doing well. Good news has reached us concerning Matita, the only female taken from Mokolodi. She has given birth to a female baby rhino called Yantha, in November 2006. Yantha is a Setswana name which means 'first'. This name really suits the newborn as it is the first born for Matita, and the first rhino to be born in the Tuli Block since the local extinction of rhinos in the area. Lastly, it is the first baby rhino to be witnessed by Limpopo Lipadi officials!
photo by Trevor Swanepoel
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