New help for rhino orphans

Environmentalists have devised new ways of saving baby rhinos orphaned by poachers.

Wildlife specialist Karen Trendler hosted a workshop at the weekend at which a group of rangers, veterinary workers and members of anti-poaching units were taught how to deal with orphaned rhino.

"One of the most traumatic experiences for a rhino is watching your mother get killed," she said.

Trendler said she was concerned that many orphaned rhino were looked after at "pay and play" facilities at which people paid to see a baby rhino and feed it.

She said rhino in such an environment "grow up too tame to be released into the wild".

Those who attended the workshop were taught how to handle orphaned or injured rhinos to increase their chances of survival.

Participants were also taught about the correct handling of bullets and how to avoid disturbing the site of a poaching or destroying crime-scene evidence.

"We want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem," said Trendler.

Vincent Barkas, a member of a private anti-poaching team, said at least a quarter of all white rhino in South Africa lived on private farms and most of the farms lacked adequate security.

In Hoedspruit, Limpopo, where Barkas works, 11 of the 15 farms have inadequate security and the "poaching syndicates know this".

• The Wildlife and Environmental Society of SA's Chris Galliers took DNA from 100 rhino in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday as part of a plan to make "rhino passports" to prevent private rhino-trading fraud.

Galliers said that, when private owners bought and sold rhino, some would land up in the hands of a third party who was not listed on the sales permit. Some of these rhino disappear and are presumed dead.