Dehorning Rhinos

[Sprocky]

[Flutterby]

I just hope this keeps them safe!

[RobertT]

Is the fence not down between them and Kruger? If so, which are theirs and which are Krugers?

This would also mean the poachers would be targeting more in Kruger if the surrounding areas rhino don't have horn.

[Lisbeth]

Is it possible that you have to arrive at this kind of initiative in order to keep the rhinos safe

[RobertT]

With the fences down these will just get shot so they don’t get tracked again. So unless everyone in greater Kruger + Kruger dehorn,I reckon these are at more risk now.

[Sprocky]

More detail on the operation...


The Rhino population of the BALULE Nature Reserve has been dehorned.

South African National Parks (SANParks) and its conservation partners in the Greater Kruger Region are in the process of implementing additional strategic and collaborative management interventions as part of an integrated rhino management approach. As part of several initiatives, some entities will embark on the strategic dehorning of rhinos in the Greater Kruger Protected Area landscape, and BALULE were able to execute dehorning during the last week.

In a seven day, highly specialised operation, the rhino population of BALULE has been dehorned.

The operation was carried out with professional precision and in conjunction with our neighbouring reserve, it is believed to have been the largest single dehorning operation yet carried out in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo Lowveld focusing on free ranging wild rhinos.

BALULE is a Private Reserve, open to the Kruger National Park and its neighbours in the Association of Private Nature Reserves (APNR). It is privately funded and has been hit hard by illegal poaching in the past several years.

The relentless onslaught has reduced the rhino population within Balule by near 70% since 2012.

Family groups have been severely compromised and sex ratios skewed leading to a dire situation for the natural prosperity of our rhinos.

Accordingly, in order to stem the losses, it was resolved to:

Explore, and if possible, implement, a dehorning strategy so as to reduce the attractiveness of the targets to poaching syndicates; and
Implement additional security measures.

Following ten months of planning and extensive stake holder consultations, which included South African National Parks specialists from the Kruger National Park, neighbouring reserves and provincial authorities, the appropriate permits authorising BALULE to proceed with the opera-tion were issued.

This multi-disciplined operation was carried out by a large specialized team comprising the BALULE management team, four wildlife veterinari-ans, a fixed wing spotter aeroplane and two helicopters. In addition, vehicle-based ground teams with air-to-ground communications, systemat-ically moved through the reserve capturing and dehorning all rhinos that were located.

The entire operation was closely monitored by a LEDET official who were furthermore responsible for the collection of DNA samples from every rhino, which will be entered into the RHODIS system which is hosted at the University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort genetics laboratory.

BALULE is host to a Black Rhino population which belongs to the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency. These rhinos were succesfully released on Balule in 2011 as part of the WWF Black Rhino Expansion Program (BREP program).

ECPTA approved this security intervention and their officials were present during the dehorning of their Black Rhinos on Balule. Valuable data and genetic samples were collected during the dehorning immobilization of the Black rhinos.

During the operation increased security measures were in place and a specialized asset protection security organisation were present and all horns were removed off the reserve daily to specialized secure off-site storage facilities.

BALULE approved this extensive operation, as it had become abundantly clear that with the current intensity of rhino poaching, BALULE rhino would become extinct within the next two to four years, unless more drastic measures were taken. This, in spite of the already substantial financial investments in security, both in terms of manpower and technology which has been spent over the past few years.

The dehorning project is not viewed as a standalone initiative, but will contribute towards the existing multi-faceted suite of security initiatives which already exist within the APNR and BALULE. Furthermore, the BALULE dehorning project is contributory towards the GLTFCA integrated rhino management program, which is underpinned by the cooperative agreement which exists between BALULE, other Protected Areas open to the KNP and the KNP.

Given the pioneering nature of this project, the effectiveness against poaching as well as the health and well-being of the rhino’s will be closely and scientifically monitored into the future, with the ultimate objective of ensuring the survival of the wild rhino population within Protected Areas, the Country and in Africa.

[Sprocky]

And, this is a short piece in the Grietjie monthly newsletter, from our Chairman and Vice Chairman of Balule...

Rhino: We (Balule) have recently completed a project to dehorn all our rhino. We have dehorned a total of 40 animals. This was an exercise undertaken by the APNR reserves and the corresponding areas within Kruger. Some reserves are performing selective dehorning while others, including our neighbour the Klaserie have done total dehorning. This project is not seen as a reason to decrease security but just another tool to help us try and protect our remaining rhino.

It is well known fact that poachers tend to increase the pressure on Reserves that are intending to dehorn as they know their time to get horns is running out. We therefore had to plan and execute the operation under a veil of secrecy. There are some who believe that dehorning doesn’t work and have some theories as to why, however the evidence in our area indicates that those neighbours of ours that have dehorned some years back, have not suffered any losses since, despite these theories.

Thanks to those that helped us financially towards this project and a proper thank you will be sent from Balule once the final clean-up operation has concluded.

[Richprins]

[Flutterby]

With the fences down these will just get shot so they don’t get tracked again. So unless everyone in greater Kruger + Kruger dehorn,I reckon these are at more risk now.

That's what I'm worried about.

[Sprocky]

With the fences down these will just get shot so they don’t get tracked again. So unless everyone in greater Kruger + Kruger dehorn,I reckon these are at more risk now.

That's what I'm worried about.

Maybe this explains why the dehorning took place...

It is well known fact that poachers tend to increase the pressure on Reserves that are intending to dehorn as they know their time to get horns is running out. We therefore had to plan and execute the operation under a veil of secrecy. There are some who believe that dehorning doesn’t work and have some theories as to why, however the evidence in our area indicates that those neighbours of ours that have dehorned some years back, have not suffered any losses since, despite these theories.