Latest
report from Save the Rhino Trust's Field Director, Bernd Brell
On the 29 November
2005, returning from a field trip, I was informed of the following:
Karonda, a rhino bull, had been sighted
near the "Pink House" feeding on a Euphorbia virosa
a strange noise was heard coming from
him while breathing, sounding as if he possibly had moisture
on his lungs
his posterior horn looked as if was cracked
his condition being 3,5 according to
the trackers
after he had got wind of the trackers
he made no attempt to run away, just slowly walking of.
The
above was an indication that the animal had been in a possible
fight with another rhino in the area.
I informed Rudi
Loutit about the above and he requested me to check up on the
animal as soon as possible looking for
a. signs of blood from his nose or mouth
b. any sign of blood in his faeces
c. condition of faeces - type of vegetation fed on/sign of not
feeding properly
d. any sign of injury to his limbs e.g. limping.
Myself
and four trackers left the next morning at 06h30 to track and
find Karonda to evaluate his condition. His tracks were found
about 40 minutes later and the rhino itself after another 20 minutes
tracking. We also found areas where he had rested during the night
as well as fresh faeces and feeding signs:
no blood was found in his dung
or along the tracks
in the place where he had rested
a lot of saliva was found but without any signs of blood, indicating
possible injuries to the lungs
feeding signs consisted of leaves
and twigs eaten from young Mopani and Kalicorema shrub and a
lot of branches of Euphorbia virosa
a 'wheezing' sound was coming from
his nose indicating that there was some sort of obstruction
to his nasal cavities
his posterior horn was still attached
to his skull but leaning forward more than normal giving the
impression it was broken or cracked. On closer inspection we
could see that his nasal bone behind the posterior horn was
swollen, possibly cracked or swollen, causing the strange noise
coming from his nose
his condition being about 2,4 (see
photo below)
he was feeding on Euphorbia virosa
at the time of monitoring him
from his tracks in the area we
concluded that he had been moving around in this area for a
couple of days. There is water and plenty of food available.
Latest
report from Save the Rhino Trust's Field Director, Bernd Brell
The
above was an indication that the animal had been in a possible
fight with another rhino in the area.
Myself
and four trackers left the next morning at 06h30 to track and
find Karonda to evaluate his condition. His tracks were found
about 40 minutes later and the rhino itself after another 20 minutes
tracking. We also found areas where he had rested during the night
as well as fresh faeces and feeding signs:
