OBITUARY: In loving memory of Geza

Geza was named after his playful nature. Here he's living up to his name, enjoying a mud bath.
Photo: Supplied

Geza, “The naughty one”, was named this by his caretakers, due to his playful nature as a calf. But, at the age of five, his life was tragically and cruelly cut short by poachers. Geza was born in January 2006 on Amakhala Game Reserve and was moved to Kariega Game reserve when he was three years old. On Thursday 10 February he was darted by poachers and his horn removed. The distressed Geza was found the next morning and had to be put down. He is one of the many rhinos that have suffered this fate in South Africa.

Geza was bon on Amakhala Game Reserve in January 2006. Here he's only a few days old.
Photo by Mike Holmes

Rhino poachers set sights on Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape has been rocked by a recent spate of rhino poachings. The number of rhinos poached in 2011 has already exceeded the number of rhinos poached in the province in 2010.
On Thursday, 3 March, three more rhino carcasses were discovered in Dwesa Nature reserve, on the Wild Coast, after a carcass had been discovered there on 19 February.
Kariega Game Reserve also lost one of their rhinos last month. After the incident, the Indalo Association, comprising 11 private Eastern Cape game reserves, met to discuss various options to stop the killing, including dehorning. Veterinarian, Dr William Fowlds, however, expressed doubt about dehorning.
“I’m not convinced that it will stop poachers completely, without injuring the animal. There is still re-growth and the animal will have to be darted every three months to saw this off.
"It’s a deterrent, but it’s not ultimate,” Fowlds said.
He also pointed out that rhinos use their horns socially and for protection.
Kariega’s game ranch manager, Mike Fuller, said while they would increase surveillance on the farm, they were also considering moving the animals to a central area where they could be monitored more easily.
Fowlds was unimpressed with investigations of the police.
“Our biggest concern is that the police are not being effective in combating this crime. We are trying to find ways to support them and help them to be more effective. Unfortunately there’s a huge gap between what’s required and what’s actually happening,” he said.
Eastern Cape Parks CEO, Sybert Liebenberg, however, believed the police were doing a good job in the Dwesa poaching investigation.
“The guys [police] are doing fantastic work. They are really committed to helping with poaching,” he said.
The question is why poaching has suddenly reared its ugly head in the Eastern Cape. Liebenberg believes the anti-poaching measures implemented in the northern parts of South Africa have started taking effect, forcing poachers to find other hunting grounds.
With this, the demand for rhino horn has increased, pushing up the price and forcing poachers to take more chances.
Most poaching is done by highly organised syndicates. According to an article in the March edition of Africa Geographic, the success of some syndicates is due to the involvement of insiders.
Liebenberg said these syndicates had large networks, were very sophisticated and were highly dangerous.
Although Eastern Cape Parks had activated their response plan to prevent any further poaching, Liebenberg felt that poaching needed to be addressed both on the demand and supply sides. For example, cultural beliefs in the use of rhino horn in traditional medicine needed to be challenged.
Footage of the Kariega poaching is set to be aired on MNet’s Carte Blanche in the near future.


How can you help?
• Contact the authorities if you see anything suspicious or out of the ordinary while in a game reserve. This includes: Individuals or groups who aren’t accompanied by a field guide, and low-flying helicopters.
• Take down as much detail as possible: Helicopter registration or part of it, details of what individuals looked like, location and time of sighting, description of vehicle, vehicle registration.
• Do not confront the poachers, they are usually armed and very dangerous.
• Report what you've seen immediately. You can contact the park management, park rangers, the SAPS or Green Scorpions.

Contact numbers:
Green Scorpions
Jaap Pienaar: 082 853 1844
Div de Villiers: 082 417 0153
Environmental Crimes and Incidents Hotline: 0800 205 005
Grahamstown SAPS: 046 603 9152

Horrific rhino poaching at Kariega

A distressed rhino was left stumbling around without its horn after being darted by poachers at Kariega Game Reserve last Thursday.

By the time the rhino was found on Friday morning, it had regained conciousness. Normally, rhinos that fall victim to poachers bleed to death, but the poachers missed the vitals on this animal, extending its suffering. Dr William Fowlds, who was called out to inspect the rhino, describes video footage that was taken of the rhino as "disturbing." After inspecting the rhino, it became apparent that it would not survive and it was put down. In December, Kariega also lost a rhino cow who was used for breeding, to poachers. Kariega’s game ranch manager, Mike Fuller says, "Something has to be done. We have to up our anti-poaching methods. That might mean putting people on the ground, with rifles.” The case has been handed over to the police and the green scorpions, and is still being investigated.

Rhino Horn: Useful or Useless?

Rhino horn is sought after, predominantly in China and Vietnam, for its medicinal properties. In Traditional Chinese medicine, not only is rhino horn believed to be an aphrodisiac, but it can also be used to cure a large number of ailments including fevers, convulsions, delirium, headaches, pus-filled boils, food poisoning and devil possession. Rhino poaching increased alarmingly in 2010 after claims that the horn can prevent and cure cancer. Previously, rhino horn was used in Yemen to make dagger handles, called jambiyas. Various studies on rhino horns have indicated that they have no medicinal properties, as they consist of compressed keratin fibres, the same as in hair and fingernails.

What’s being done?

In a desperate attempt to protect South Africa’s rhinos, game reserves are coming up with solutions.

•DNA Fingerprinting: In Kruger National Park, samples are being taken of every rhino's blood, skin, hair, horn and hooves. This is sent to Pretoria University where they treat the samples in order to extract DNA information. They then create DNA profiles for the animals, which can be used to identify a carcass if an animal is poached.

•Poisoning horns: The Rhino and Lion Park near Krugersdorp have treated their rhinos’ horns with an ectoparasiticide. The poison is highly toxic to humans and is administered with a dye which shows up on X-ray monitors. This makes the horns deadly to consume and will make it impossible for poachers to smuggle whole or powdered horns out of the country.

•GPS Technology: Rhinos in Mafikeng Nature Reserve have had GPS tags fitted in their horns. The tags emit information about the rhino’s location every minute of the day and an alarm sounds when there is a deviation in the animal’s behaviour.

•Foot patrols: Many game reserves have resorted to having armed patrols.

Any information about rhino poaching can be reported to the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s emergency hotline on 082 404 2128.

Sourced from: http://www.sanparks.org/, http://www.5050.co.za/, http://beta.mnet.co.za/carteblanche.

Published in Grocott's Mail on 18 February 2011