Two years on: A tribute to South Africa’s rhinos

02Mar

Rhino Thandi and Family

rhino, conservation

(3 comments)

Commemoration of rhinos poached at Kariega Game Reserve: 2 March 2012

Today our thoughts go back to that dreadful day two years ago when we found our three rhinos after poachers had attacked them. We think about our unnamed bull that died during the night, the fight for survival and tragic death of Themba and the amazing recovery of Thandi.

Since the beginning of 2012 poachers have killed over 1,800 rhinos in South Africa. We are currently losing three rhinos every day. We pay tribute to our brave rhinos and all those that have lost their lives due to human greed, a lack of understanding and care for our environment.

We share this video of Thandi and the thought provoking words of Dr William Fowlds, the wildlife vet who has treated her and helped take this story across the world to fuel public passion for rhino conservation. We encourage you to share it, and get involved in whatever way you can to help in the fight for the survival of rhino.

“Thandi remains probably one of the most influential rhino in the struggle that rhino are going through as a species. She is synonymous with the fight to survive. She is synonymous with the suffering that the animals are going through. She carries a lot of the pain, the shame and the burden that we as humans feel because of what we are allowing rhinos to go through,” says Dr Fowlds.

He continues to say, “Every single week of my life I come across people that have been inspired by Thandi. They are inspired to get involved now. It starts with rhino. As soon as people start to learn about the crisis and see that we are losing 1,000 rhino plus now every year just in South Africa alone. Then they start to dig into the reasons behind it and it soon dawns on us that this is not just about rhino. It is an international crisis that permeates into who we are as humans and how our attitudes to the environment are beginning to impact on us as human beings.”

Kariega co-owner Graeme Rushmere comments, “We continue to be inspired by Thandi's incredible fighting spirit and miraculous recovery. We are buoyed by her pregnancy and look forward to welcoming her calf towards the end of 2014. We would like to thank all those who have supported Kariega Game Reserve and our rhino's. We continue to be overwhelmed by your generosity.”